One Step At A Time
by o0vicarious-living0o
Summary: After losing her memories in an accident after fleeing the war at sixteen, Connie arrives in Beach City to start a new life seven years later. But is it REALLY a new life? "M" for a reason!
1. Chapter 1

**_Hiya! So, I wasn't happy with the way my OC was going, so I gave "One Day at a Time" a complete overhaul. Basically the same story as with my OC, but Connie is there instead with quite a twist. ;) I hope you enjoy!_**

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The breeze that rolled across the beach washed over me with a comforting, much needed cooling effect. The sun was high overhead, but I didn't care about burning with my dark skin. I had been walking for days, trying to find a new place to start over.

I needed to get away from everything I once knew and find somewhere new, where no one knew me and none of my past could find me. The small town of Beach City was very close-knit community, but also very secluded from the rest of the world. There was no way I could encounter anyone or anything from my past, so there was a good chance a new life could be established easily in the quiet little beach town.

I laid on the beach for a long couple of hours, it seemed. It wasn't like I had anywhere to go just yet. My plan for later in the day was to try an find some kind of crag in the cliff side and hide out there until morning. The bag I carried with me had one bar of soap and a change of clothes I had managed to grab before escaping. The clothes were _just_ decent enough for job interviews.

I wanted to get an early start the next day job hunting, just so I could find a place to live as soon as possible. I could survive without food as long as the restaurants were kind enough to offer free water. I was pretty sure that I could scrounge up enough change from the ground around town and on the beach to at least get myself a loaf of bread and a gallon jug to store water.

Sitting up, I looked around the beach, noting the occasional umbrella or sunbather. I smiled as I spotted a small shack about a hundred yards away that obviously served as a shower-station. It wasn't much, but it would at least be useful to wash my current clothes and myself so I could make a decent impression on any possible employer.

Getting to my feet, I made my way to the shower house and began the grueling, slow process of hand-washing clothes and letting them try to dry as I cleaned myself in the cold stream of water. My clothes were still wet when I put them back on, but it mattered little to me as long as I was clean. Looking to the sky across the endless ocean, I noted the setting sun. I needed to find shelter.

The walk around the cliff-side was actually a bit more of a challenge than I had anticipated. By the time I rounded the first large curve, I was panting. Stopping for a second to lean against a boulder and catch my breath, I tried to even my breathing while counting slowly. I was much more exhausted than I thought I would be after my days of traveling on foot. Finally giving up for the moment, I slumped down the boulder and settled in the sand. I was losing light quickly, but if I pushed my body much more I wasn't going to be in any shape to search for jobs the next day.

Using a small stick to draw absent little circles in the sand, I tried to let my mind be blank. I didn't want to think about anything. I didn't want to think about my past or my future. I wanted to live in the absolute present, where I only thought about what step I needed to take _right then_. As of that moment, my step was ten minutes of rest. Once I completed that step, I would then worry about what was next. One thing at a time. Focus on one thing at a time. That's how I was making it through.

After my ten minutes of rest, I began to stand up before I felt the ground quake slightly as a bright white light filtered through the area. Immediately on alert, I looked up, my mouth open in shock.

There, in the side of the cliff, was a large goddess-like being imprinted into the craggy rock. Right beneath her torso, a beach house was built into the front of it, which is where the light came from. Heart hammering in my chest as my paranoia mounted steadily, I looked around quickly before taking off at a run. I ran past the beach house as fast as I could, trying to get to the other side of the clearing before anything or anyone can see me. I was just a few yards away from rounding a corner to safety when I heard a screen-door open behind me.

 _Fuck_.

"Hey!" I heard a man's voice call out. His tone didn't seem angry but I didn't care. I didn't stop running until I was several yards down the coastline. Looking around frantically, I saw a small gap in the rock of the cliff. It wasn't big at all, but I had lost so much weight that I could comfortably fit in it with my bag and sleep at least for a couple of hours.

I didn't hear the man nor anything else pursuing me, so I shoved my bag into the gap and followed behind it. It was completely dark by the time I had settled, if you could call it that. There wasn't enough room to lay down, but if I positioned my bag just right I could sit up and be just as comfortable.

Seeing the stars as bright as city lights from across the ocean gave me comfort. They were beautiful, and for the first time since I had arrived in Beach City, I felt like I could actually make things work.

Pulling forth my mental blank box, I began the tireless effort of falling asleep.

...

Standing outside of that disgusting Fish Stew Pizza parlor, I kicked the wall angrily, no longer caring about scuffing up my only nice shoes, which were actually just really sleek looking boots. The pizza parlor was the seventh place in a row to completely reject me, but not harshly. It was strange, really. Even though nowhere would hire me, they all treated me like they knew me and seemed to hold real remorse that they couldn't help strange as it was, though, I guess it was my fault. I should have known better. Small towns like Beach City tended to have family-run businesses, which left little room for outsiders like myself. Finally feeling the pain in my big toe become unbearable, I growled out in frustration as I turned on my heel.

What I hadn't expected was a very solid form being right behind me, which I crashed into full-force. Just as I bounced off it and was about to land flat on my ass, I suddenly felt a very strong arm grip me tightly around the waist and pull me up straight once more.

"Whoa, are you okay?"

Ashamedly looking up at whoever it was, I hadn't expected the moment to be so dazzling. He stood almost seven feet tall, with dark eyes and wild black hair pulled back into a ponytail. His face was accentuated with a scruffy goatee. He was wearing loose-fitting jeans and a red shirt with a star in the center, all of which oddly seemed to suit him even though I didn't know him. His strong jaw and confident stature already made me feel two inches tall, and there was a grace he seemed to hold that I had never seen before in any other human being.

"Oh my God, I'm so sorry!" I blurted out, backing up and almost stumbling once more. My back hit the brick wall of the pizza place luckily, keeping me from falling.

The man was already halfway to trying to catch me again before I caught myself before he drew his eyebrows together in a concerned gaze. He paused and stared at me for an overly-long moment. Without warning, his eyes lit up and he lunged at me, pulling me into a bone-crushing hug. "Connie?! Oh my God, Connie! You're back! You came back!"

Using all the strength I possessed, I shoved the stranger away from me, two seconds away from smashing him in the nose. "Whoa, pal! I don't know what the hell you think is going on, but my name's not Connie and I have no clue who you are!"

The man stopped in his tracks, his features morphing into complete confusion, "But... You ARE Connie! Connie Maheswaran! You've even got the scar on your arm from your sword training with Pearl – "

"Look, dude!" I cut in, gritting my teeth briefly. "My name is Aria! ARE – EE – AH! I don't know what fantasy world you live in where people 'sword train' but I got this scar in a car accident you insensitive prick!"

"No, Connie!" I shot him a glare, daring him. "Uh, Aria! Please listen to me! I can't say that you are or aren't Connie, but the similarities have me really convinced! I don't want you mad at me! So, please, can we start over? If you say you are Aria, then I can't change that."

I waited a moment, mulling over his words. He seemed sincere. "I guess." I said much more quickly than I intended. Straightening up, I said, "I mean, uh, sure. And I'm sorry for flipping out. Just a little frustrated today."

"I'd say frustrated is an understatement," he observed good-naturedly, indicating to the wall. "I get frustrated a lot but I don't think I've ever taken it out on a place that gives me food."

"Heh," I laughed nervously, rubbing the back of my neck. "Yeah, so it's a bit more than frustrated. But it's okay."

"If you say so," he said in his velvety baritone. Holding his hand out to me, he startled me when he said, "I'm Steven. Steven Universe."

I don't believe I had ever met someone with such a happy vibe, and it was obvious that that was the way he always acted. I extended a shaking hand to grasp his.

"It's just Aria for me," I said nervously, shaking his hand slowly before pulling away.

"Wow," he said, his eyes widening slightly, boring into mine. "Aria. That's a really pretty name."

"Um, thank you," I said, nervously rubbing the back of my neck once more.

"So, did you just move ba – move into town?" he asked, correcting himself. Well, he didn't fiddle around much.

"Um," I said, looking down at my scuffed boots. "I guess you could say that." Looking up at the sky, I squeaked as I realized that it was already evening. "Oh!" I said aloud, stomping a foot. "Oh no! I wasted too much time! I can't go job hunting at night!" I fretted to myself as I walked a few feet away from Steven.

"Oh! I'm sorry!" he said, grabbing my attention. Turning to look at him, he continued with a panicked note. "I didn't know you were actually busy! I just thought you were kicking the wall! I didn't know you were actually looking for a job!"

"No, no, it's fine," I defended, waving my arms slightly in embarrassment. "I was so busy being mad at being turned down seven times in a row that I wasted the time I had left to try a few more places. None of it was your fault."

A sudden expression of epiphany washed over the man's features as his eyes almost seemed to shine like stars. "Wait, you need a job?"

"Well, yeah," I said, hoping I didn't sound too rude. I had literally just said that I was job hunting. Why ask?

"Have you tried over at It's a Wash?" he asked bluntly, leaning in closer to me as his smile widened.

I was still slightly panicking on the inside so his words were slightly garbled. When they caught up to me, I had completely misconstrued what he said as, "Have you tried taking a wash?" I immediately bristled as I flushed with embarrassment.

"That – I – That's – That's none of your business!" I said loudly, taking a step back. How _dare_ he? "What's it to you what my hygiene is like – !"

Unbelievably, the man started laughing, his joyous sounds immediately stopping my rant in its tracks. Breathing out in chuckles, he said, "No! That's not what I meant at all!" Letting out another short burst of laughter, he continued, "I meant have you tried applying at the car wash, It's a Wash? My dad owns it...? And... he's getting on up in years so he's been looking for someone to help him with paperwork and stuff. With that fancy getup I bet you'd be great at it!"

Jesus Christ, was this dude for real? He was like an unsustainable ball of happiness and optimism. It wasn't something I was used to.

Self-consciously laughing as I looked down at my bland black slacks and white button-up, he seemed to sense my skepticism so he added, "Your long dark hair and brown eyes really go with that outfit."

My cheeks burned, and in my attempt to ignore what he said, I realized I was really thirsty. I hadn't had time to search for any stray change, so eating was off the table for me that night. Luckily, that Beach Citywalk Fries place down the strip was more than happy to give me free water, so I glanced nervously in that direction. Looking back at Steven, I said, "Um, I didn't know about that place. I guess I'll try there tomorrow. Thank you, Steven."

Smiling, almost sadly, he said, "No problem. I can even talk to my dad for ya. Not that I don't think he wouldn't hire you anyway."

"That would be great," I said politely, trying to ignore my thirst. "Just try not to be there when I get there. Uh... You know. So I can... Try and keep it... professional." My cheeks burned even more. I just didn't want him to see me wearing the same outfit two days in a row.

Steven's dark eyes narrowed, and I was suddenly worried that he was becoming suspicious. Just as I was about to start panicking on the inside, his eyes widened once more as he smiled again. "Makes sense. I'll just call him and tell him you're coming by."

"Thank you, Steven," I said, reaching out to shake his hand once more. He seemed unsure of the gesture, so I pried, "You okay?"

"Oh," he said, his cheeks flushing a bit. "I was just going to ask... Are you going to the Blue Tide Festival on the beach tonight?"

I was caught completely off-guard by that question, so I looked around and stuttered, "Wh – wha?"

"The Blue Tide Festival!" he said excitedly, grabbing me by the hand (which completely freaked me out) and dragging me to the edge of the boardwalk. From there, I could see where almost everyone in the town was congregating to the beach as tents and lights and different kinds of stands were being put up, along with a stage facing dozens of seats. A few people walking by waved to either Steven or me or both of us. Strange.

As I took it in, Steven continued explaining. "The Blue Tide Festival is a special event every year here in Beach City. Because of the currents and other weird ocean stuff, millions of small blue jellyfish wash up almost all the way to the beach, lighting it up blue all the way around the coast. It's really cool, and the jellyfish are funny looking and feel weird to touch. They don't really hurt. I think since you're... you're _new_ to the area you should come and be around our community for such an amazing event."

I had to admit, the festival sounded absolutely enchanting, but... I had a crack in a cliff to crawl into. Bummer.

"I... I can't. I'm not dressed appropriately and I would have to walk all the way back to my house to get changed – "

"Then I'll take you home so you can get changed and we'll come back," he said unabashedly. It seemed like he was being extremely forward with me, but the innocence in his eyes was unmistakeable. But there was no way in hell I was letting him take me "home."

Rather than let him prod more, I said quickly, "No! No, it's fine, really. Actually, I can walk home from here. If you really want me to come, I'll change and come back. Okay?"

His eyes seemed to do that thing where they shined likes stars once more. "Sounds great! Just come find me and I'll show you around and... introduce you to everybody."

That made me extremely uncomfortable, but I figured it was inevitable. Forcing a smile, I nodded to him. "Alright, Steven. I'll be back soon."

"See you soon, Co - Aria!" he called after me as I turned around and began walking towards the bottom of the cliff.

Looks like keeping low wasn't much of an option in this place. Things could have probably been ten times easier.

If I still had any memories.

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 ** _Please Read and Review and make this poor old soul's heart happy._**


	2. Chapter 2

I probably spent a good thirty minutes crammed into my hole in the wall (literally) as I debated with myself about going. As much as I wanted nothing to do with men or relationships or anything to do with forming bonds, I couldn't deny that that Steven guy was irresistibly attractive. I needed to stay as far away from him as possible, otherwise problems would arise – especially since he seemed convinced I was some person he knew and I didn't know who I was, period..

Problems always follow me.

I gently beat my head against the inside wall of the crag, debating with myself before I finally let decency take over. He had seemed so excited, and it was such a small place that I was bound to run into him again. There was no sense in trying to make things awkward.

Steeling my resolve, I pulled on my (somewhat) clean clothes from the day before, which were kind of scratchy after air drying in the salty sea air. After pulling on my jeans which had the knees worn out, I slipped on my green tank top, which was the last of my clothing options. Grabbing my worn high-tops and pulling them on, I stood outside the crack and found myself wishing for the first time that I had a mirror. My wavy brown hair, which flowed all the way down my back, felt like a rat's nest and I was sure my eyes were puffy and worn-looking.

As ready as I would ever be, I left my bag in the space and began my walk back to the area of the beach where the festival was held. Anxiety gripped me tightly more and more with each step I took through the sand. It had been at least three days since I had last eaten, but my stomach had long since passed the point of hurting. It just stayed slightly cramped, and the occasional wave of dizziness would sometimes follow. I didn't mind too much. I knew what was causing it and it was an issue I was working on. At that moment in time, there was nothing to be done for it, so it was best that I ignore it.

By the time I arrived at the festival, it was already in full swing with live music, rides, food, drinks, flashing lights and streamers everywhere. I approached slowly, secretly screaming on the inside and having a complete meltdown. What the hell was I doing? I didn't know these people! They didn't know me! How the hell was someone like me supposed to fit in with such a close-knit community?

"C – Aria!"

I heard my name called loudly, so I turned to see Steven running up to me, looking as dashing as ever. Following behind him were three women, each one weirder than the next. One was a large, red Amazonian type, with a squared-off afro, shades (even though it was night?) and what seemed like a permanent scowl. Another was short and kind of purple and slightly plump. What astounded me was her remarkably beautiful long white hair. The last one was a very fair-skinned, slightly tall but very thin woman with a white jewel decorating her forehead. All three of them carried the same grace that I had seen in Steven.

"Oh, hi Steven," I said humbly, waving slightly as I smiled. "I hope you didn't wait too long for me."

"Of course not," he exclaimed happily. Gesturing to the festival all around, he asked, "So whadda ya think? Is it not amazing?"

Nodding as I watched the lights and movements and dancing, I said, "It really is something."

Suddenly, the thin, pale woman leaned forward and tapped Steven on the shoulder. "Ah, Steven. Um, when you said her name is Aria...?"

"Oh!" Steven said, slightly reddening at his apparent impoliteness. "Right. Aria, this is Pearl, Garnet, and Amethyst."

The foursome all smiled a bit awkwardly at that.

When Steven noticed the pale woman's look of confusion, he looked at the three women and said, "Look, I know she looks like... _Connie_... But her name is Aria."

The one I then assumed was Amethyst burst into laughter. "Come on Steven. We can obviously tell that this is – _oomf_!

The was stopped mid-sentence by the large one covering her mouth. "Hush, Amethyst. We know. It's something we'll discuss later."

The pale one frowned at that and it made me slightly nervous. However, I was still uncomfortable. The one known as Garnet stepped forward and nodded at me. "Very nice to meet you, Aria. Any friend of Steven's is a friend of ours." She smiled as she adjusted her shades, which almost creeped me out.

"N-Nice to meet you, too. Are you three Steven's sisters or something?" I couldn't help but notice how close-knit the group seemed, but none of them resembled any of the others in the least.

"I suppose that's one way to put it," Garnet replied before looking towards the festival lights. "The entertainment is about to start. I'll find us some seats."

With no further fanfare, Garnet walked away towards the stage, but not before I noticed two reddish gems embedded in each palm of her hands. Was sticking gems on yourself a new fashion thing?

"Well," Amethyst said, licking her lips. With slight exasperation I realized that she had a large purple gem embedded in her chest. What was going on? "I smell funnel cakes and you know what that means!" Turning and taking off in the direction Garnet had left, she yelled out, "Garnet! Wait for me!"

With that, it was only Pearl and Steven left. Pearl didn't seem as eager to go into the crowd.

Steven at least seemed to know what was up, because he said, "Pearl, are you sure you don't wanna watch the show and the jellyfish? You never join in."

Rolling her eyes slightly, Pearl crossed her arms and smiled. "Yes, I'm sure, Steven. I've seen the Blue Light Festival every year since it was started and I've been watching the jellyfish light up this coast for several thousand years. It's not that special to me anymore, but go ahead and enjoy yourself."

Several thousand years? What in the hell kind of drugs was this lady on?

"Aww, you don't wanna at least stay and watch the band?" he asked beggingly. The pale woman had obviously been around Steven long enough to become immune to his charms, because he was suddenly making _me_ want to beg her to come. And I didn't even care!

"Now, Steven," she said, almost talking as if she would to a child. The thought kind of steamed me up but it was none of my business. I didn't know what their relationship was. "You know well enough by now that your kind of music does not amuse me in the least. That was always Rose's forte."

"Alright," he said dejectedly. "Fine. I might be out late so I guess I'll see you in the morning."

"Alright," she said in an almost motherly tone. "Have fun." It was hardly noticeable, but I could just barely make out the narrowing of Pearl's eyes as she looked at me. "And stay out of trouble."

With that, she began walking away on the beach, not looking back. It was that moment that I realized that my mouth was hanging open out of sheer confusion. Looking at Steven, he seemed to hold a very odd expression for a moment before his eyes lit up. "Oh! I bet you're wondering about them. I forgot you..."

Suddenly blushing furiously, I nervously tucked my hair behind my ears as I stumbled through my words. "Oh – Um, Well, it's... It's not really my business..."

"It's okay!" he said brightly and reassuringly. "We've been here so long that everyone around knows who we are. It's been a long time since I had to explain it."

Explain what? Were they all secret serial killers? Is their little murder club represented by those gem things? What the hell was going on?

"Come on," he said suddenly, holding his hand out to me. After having thoughts of him being a serial killer, I wasn't sure if I wanted to grab his hand, but he grabbed mine anyways and pulled me off to the boardwalk.

Motioning for me to sit on a bench, where we were well away from the people and noise of the festival, he sat down and turned to face me. "Okay, so, don't freak out, but there's something you should know about me. And Garnet, Amethyst, and Pearl. We're not exactly normal, but please let me finish explaining. I think we have enough time before the band comes on.

My skepticism was through the roof, but curiosity kept me stock still. I was about to get answers.

...

As Steven and I walked slowly towards the seating area from the boardwalk, I could only stare at the ground and try and process everything he had told me. Crystal Gems? Magic? Gem wars? Warp pads? And when he mentioned that he and the three women were all Gems, he lifted his shirt to show me his well-toned abdomen where a rose-colored gem laid right where his bellybutton should have been. I almost became hysterical at one point because I could hardly believe that he expected _me_ to believe everything. And then he showed me his shield.

Since that moment, I think I was in complete shock.

"So, your mother actually gave up her life to make you..." I said, having a very difficult time processing. I was talking to myself, which was how I dealt with stress in those recent days. "You're technically your mother because you couldn't exist without her gem, but only one of you can exist. You're technically like the others except you're half-human." Covering my eyes, I tried taking deep breaths. Uncovering them, the edges of my vision was trying to blur, as I looked into Steven's dark and concerned gaze. "I mean... I don't know! It's all so unbelievable! But your shield... Your gem... I... I don't know if I can handle this."

And just like that, a strong surge of adrenaline rushed through me as my flight reflex kicked in out of nowhere. I felt my cheeks suddenly fill with blood as I suddenly started backing away. "Steven – I'm so sorry. I don't think I can deal with this right now. I – I can't – It's not your fault – I'm so sorry!"

With those jumbled words tumbling from my mouth, I took off at a sprint in the direction of the cliff. I hear him yell out something behind me but I ignored it as I pushed my legs faster.

Oh my _god_!

I sprinted faster and faster, flinging sand all around me as tears threatened to streak across my face. I was so fucking _stupid_! I couldn't understand one bit why I was running but my legs refused to stop for anything in the world. It was so _rude_ for me to just bail like I did, and I absolutely hated every fiber of my being for just running away like a scared little kid.

I mean, I had to be honest with myself. I had heard of all kinds of weird things that happened all the time all around the world. Why did I think that everything he told me was so crazy? Why did I freak out? Wasn't I bound to run into something strange like what I'd heard about sooner or later?

My lungs burned with the intensity of the sun by the time I finally slowed to a halt in front of my crag. I couldn't deal with anything, and I could feel myself shutting down. Slumping backwards, my legs completely gave in, not-so-softly throwing myself into the wet sand. I managed to stay conscious, but I could hardly breath as I huffed and puffed. It probably took a good five minutes to finally catch my breath, but I still felt weak from running so far without stopping. I could hear the tide rolling in, but before I could focus of that, I suddenly heard footsteps.

Running footsteps.

' _Oh no!'_ I thought to myself frantically. My legs were still completely useless, and I knew there was no way I could get up and hide in time.

"Aria! Is that you?" I heard the voice ask as it came closer.

I froze completely, absolutely and completely humiliated that Steven had actually chased me down, even after I bailed on him like a complete bitch because I couldn't handle things I didn't understand. "S-Steven?"

"Aria!" he said with a relieved tone, approaching me as he carefully navigated the dark. It only took a moment before I felt his hand rest on my shoulder as he sat beside where I was laying. "Are you okay?"

Opening my eyes slowly, I looked up into Steven's dark, concerned gaze. He looked so worried. And it made me feel ten times worse. Sighing, I used all my strength to sit up, ignoring the tide as I began to feel it lapping the shore mere inches from me. "I'm... I'm okay." Using one hand to push my hair behind my ear, I continued, "I'm sorry, Steven. I don't know why I ran away like that. It was so rude of me and I _swear_ I'm not always like that – "

"Aria!" Steven exclaimed, stopping me. "No! It's not your fault! According to Dad, that's a normal reaction for people who don't know anything about that stuff. And he would know, cause he's done it before."

Looking at Steven, I could feel the cool ocean breeze gently swaying my hair as everything around us very slowly took on a blue hue. Turning my gaze away, I looked at the ocean and widened my gaze in awe.

Though the tide had already reached me and was lapping at my legs, I didn't care as I watched hundreds upon thousands of little blue jellyfish begin to line the beach, just a few feet away from where the shore broke. It was truly mesmerizing, watching them slowly build as they gave off a beautiful glow that surrounded us.

"I am sorry," I finally whispered, not moving from the water. It took me until that moment to realize that Steven was sitting in the shallow waves with me. "Oh! Your clothes are getting wet – !"

He laughed and smiled, the blue hue of the jellyfish giving his features a surreal appearance. "So are yours. Come on, let's get out of the water at least."

Nodding, I took Steven's hand as he easily pulled me to my feet with him. Letting him lead me closer to the cliff-side (to which I nervously glanced at my crag), he had me sit in the dry sand next to him before finally letting go of my hand. Pulling my knees to my chest, I propped my chin on them as I wrapped my arms around my shins, watching the beach shine with the beautiful jellyfish. I could feel Steven's eyes on me, and I knew he was near-bursting to talk.

I finally gave in. Looking at him, I said softly, "So, it's gotta suck to have never met your mother. I'm sorry."

Smiling sheepishly, he rubbed the back of his neck and said, "You apologize an awful lot. But yeah. I wish there was some way I could have known her. But since I have my dad and the Gems who knew her really well, I get to hear stories about her all the time so it makes me feel closer to her. She sounded like an amazing person... Or, well, Gem." Catching my gaze, he cautiously asked, "So, what about you? How are your parents? – I mean, what are your parents like?"

I never once ever wanted to expose any of my background to anyone after I had ran away from home, per say. I wanted a new start in life and I didn't want to dwell on anything that had to do with my old one.

Pretending to get distracted suddenly, I diverted his attention. "Wow, those jellyfish really do light up the beach. It's incredible!"

There was silence for a brief moment before he finally responded. "Yeah. It's really great. I'm glad I was the first person to watch it with you."

I felt a blush creep to my cheeks, so I lowered my gaze to let my hair fall and cover my features.

This guy was so unreal.

...

Steven and I sat and watched the jellyfish until nearly midnight, when the tide began to wane. We talked and joked about nothing in particular the entire time. After a second or third attempt at trying to get me to say something about myself or my past, he seemed to catch the hint that I was very unwilling to share. Instead, he told stories of his adventures with the Crystal Gems and the missions he would go on. He briefly mentioned his former companion named Connie, who he thought I was at first, but apparently she disappeared during a major showdown that would have completely destroyed the Earth. She had been injured and had to be evacuated. She basically gave her life protecting Steven, which I supposed was the most noble way for a person to die. It was a shame they had never found her, though.

I couldn't stop the yawn that broke forth, which had me blushing and covering my face with embarrassment. "Excuse me," I begged, rubbing my eyes. "It's been a very long week."

"Oh," he said, standing and pulling me up with him. "Well, come on. I'll take you home. I shouldn't have kept you out so late. I'm sorry."

"No, really," I argued, stepping away from him lightly. "It's okay. You go on home. I'm sure your... family is waiting on you. I'll see you around."

He didn't look certain at all, but he only shrugged his shoulders. "You sure you can make it home okay from here?"

I laughed nervously as I cast a sideways glance at the crack in the cliff. "Yeah, I'll do just fine." To finalize that I would be okay, I wrapped my arms around his neck in a hug. "I'll see you around soon I'm sure, Steven."

"Okay. Bye!"

"Bye!"


	3. Chapter 3

_**Sorry for the double chapter! Totally clicked on the wrong document. Here's the REAL chapter 3!**_

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 **Chapter 3**

The sun woke me up bright and early the next morning, reflecting itself almost blindingly off the ocean and into my small hole. Looking at my watch, I was relieved to see that I had a little bit of spare time before I needed to head to Steven's father's car wash. Steven had talked about it a bit the night before as we watched the jellyfish and told me where it was, just so I wouldn't be completely lost. I was grateful, because I had no clue where the place was.

Pulling back on my interview clothes, I dusted myself off the best I could and spent nearly thirty minutes trying to put my hair into a manageable braid. At, least, what I hoped was a manageable braid, considering I didn't have a mirror to know for sure. Placing all of my belongings back into the hole, I took a deep breath as I began my trek into town, determined to find some kind of job, even if Steven's dad turned me down.

It took a little longer than I'd hoped to make it all the way to It's a Wash, but I finally made it without too much sweating and only one dizzy spell. Approaching the car wash, I noted that it literally was just a car wash. There wasn't even an office. What?

"Hello!" a good-natured, elderly male voice called out from behind me. Turning, I saw a gray half-long-haired, half-balding man next to a van the said Mr. Universe on the side. The man was obviously waving at me, so I acknowledged him.

"Um, hello sir," I said timidly, walking towards him slowly. He approached me as well, until we were only a few feet away from each other. "Um, a friend said I might could find a job here and, um, I was just looking for the owner."

The older man smiled and laughed good-naturedly, reaching forward and taking my hand, shaking it profusely. "Yes, yes. Steven called me this morning and said you'd be by. And as much as I hate to admit it, he's right. I do need help. I'm getting' pretty old and this paperwork is getting a lot more complicated. So, ready for an interview?"

It should have struck me as strange that no one else seemed to think I was this missing "Connie" girl except for Steven, however it made me glad because I didn't want anyone anywhere near my past.

...

An hour later, I walked away from It's a Wash with a new job, though I wasn't going to start it until the next morning. According to Mr. Universe (it was his _actual_ last name), my work space was going to be built that day and everything would be ready then. I was confused at how he thought one day was going to be enough time to build an office area suitable enough for the work I'd be doing, but he seemed confident so I didn't question it.

Since I had nothing else planned, I decided it was time to change into my regular clothes and begin finding some coins to get a bite to eat with. I was going on my fifth day of not eating, and the dizzy spells only got worse as the day wore on in the heat.

I probably scoured the boardwalk fifty times back and forth, looking for anything that might help me raise just the couple of dollars I needed. Of course I absolutely refused to ask for help, so it made the job a little tougher. I was about forty cents away from having enough for a loaf of bread and jug of water, but it appeared that I had cleared the boardwalk of all its loose change.

Changing my tactic, I decided to hit the beach again, where I thought I might find some loose coins in the changing tents and shower house. I was panting as I was almost there before I heard my name being called out.

"Hey Aria! Wait up!"

Turning around, I saw Steven running up towards me, his long legs helping him travel faster than I had ever seen out of normal humans.

Oh. But he wasn't a normal human. Right.

"Oh! Hi, Steven," I said courteously, trying to discreetly brush sand from myself.

He reached me within no time, coming within only a couple of feet of me before stopping short. Smiling he said, "Dad just told me the good news! Congratulations!"

I blushed slightly but responded kindly, "Thank you, Steven. I really needed this job. But there was one thing I didn't understand..."

"What's that?" he asked, gesturing to a bench where we could sit down.

As I sat, I said, "Well, he said he was going to have the office space built by tomorrow for me, but I don't think anyone can build that fast – "

"Oh," Steven said, laughing lightly. "Yeah, that's why the Gems are working on it. Like I said, we're all actually really strong and fast. Garnet alone can have it done by dinner time."

"Wow," I said disbelievingly, looking in the direction of the car wash, even though I couldn't see it from where we were at.

"Yeah, the Gems are helpful like that. Unfortunately, I'm one of them, so I have to help, too." I noticed the redness creeping up his neck.

"Then what are you doing here?" I asked, looking around for the rest of the Gems, or maybe even his dad.

"Oh, well, I took a lunch break. I saw you out here so I thought I might invite you to come with me to eat. Food is pretty much my favorite time of the day." There was a blush creeping to Steven's cheeks that was unmistakeable.

"Oh," I said, my eyes widening. Shyly brushing a stray lock of hair behind my ear, I said nervously, "Um, I... I really shouldn't. I don't have much money right now..." Rubbing my neck and laughing with a tremble, I clenched my hands together as my stomach protested my rejection of his offer. "Heh, you know. It's kinda why I needed a job in the first place." God, the embarrassment was excruciating.

"Oh, you don't have to worry about that!" Steven said excitedly, taking my hand and dragging me from my seat and towards the boardwalk. "I've got plenty of money."

Dragging me along with him, I relented and let him lead me, but not without me over-analyzing every belief that I held. I was pretty sure I was having a panic attack. I didn't want a handout, but I was so hungry. But if I worked just a little harder, I could have fed myself. I didn't want to be a bum!

Right as we reached the first step to the boardwalk, the edges of my vision went black. All I could groan out was a weak, "Whoa," before I completely lost consciousness.

…

"... have something to do with losing her memory?"

"No, it's clearly a whole separate issue..."

I could hear voices, but they were faded and garbled. I was floating in the blackness of my mind, but I could suddenly remember everything that had happened. That's when I heard Garnet's voice.

"Quiet, everyone. She's about to open her eyes."

And she was right. Opening my eyes blearily, I could see a vaulted ceiling of wooden panels. I was laying on something with a lot of cushion, but the main thing I noticed was the air conditioning. I had been out in the elements for so many weeks by that point, I was almost used to the unending heat, but feeling the nice, cool air suddenly rushed back all my pining for having a stable home.

"Aria!"

That was Steven's voice. Weakly, I looked around, finding him standing there with his three companions. They were all looking at me with concern (well, Steven and Pearl were – Amethyst seemed very invested in her sandwich and I couldn't see Garnet's eyes for her shades).

"Steven?" I asked, trying to pull myself up to a sitting position. Rubbing my eyes, I said, "What happened? Are we in your house?"

"Er, _Aria_ ," Pearl said with more concern than I had anticipated, reaching a hand out and making me lay back once more. "You seemed to have passed out from extreme malnourishment. As a human, you could have died. Why are you so undernourished?"

Seeing the motherly concern in Pearl's eyes made my heart clench, but my pride really couldn't take much more. My mouth felt really dry, which Garnet seemed to have anticipated as she handed me a glass of water. After a couple of mouthfuls, I finally said meekly, "I've... I've just been really busy. Ya know, moving to a new place and all that."

I couldn't see the look in Garnet's eye (jeez, did she ever take those shades off?), but I got this vibe from her that I wasn't sure if I liked as she said nothing. Looking back at Pearl, I said, "I'm really sorry. I'm in your home and – "

Pearl seemed extremely surprised by that as she cut me off. "No, no! We're just worried, is all. Your a friend of Steven's and when he said you kind of fainted on the beach, it concerned us."

Looking around at what seemed to be the inside of a beach house, noticing some strange little things lying here and there, but for the most part, it looked like a normal beach house.

"Not that I'm not grateful that you didn't, but why didn't you take me to a hospital?" I asked, at least propping myself up a little to not seem entirely weak. "You don't really know me. No one would have blamed you if you just dumped me on their step."

I saw Steven flinch as I said that and Pearl shivered slightly. Giving me an uncertain look, Pearl answered, "Hospitals are just buildings festering with diseases and chemicals. Ew. Besides, we have a much better way of helping you than the hospital does."

I saw Steven make a sudden motion, so I looked over to see him rubbing the back of his neck as he addressed Pearl, "Do you think it'll work for something like this?"

I had no idea what he was talking about, and I wasn't sure I wanted to be part of some kind of weird experimentation. The only thing that kept me in place was that I felt no hostility from anyone.

"Well," Pearl said, bringing her knuckles to her chin in thought. "It healed _Connie_ several times, and she was human. And your father. My best guess is that it should work."

I could see redness creeping to Steven's cheeks, and I was extremely clueless as to what was going on. As I thought of the endless possibilities, I heard Steven say, "Um, could you guys go outside for this? It's a little embarrassing."

What? What was embarrassing? I was in serious need of answers before I had another panic attack.

The three women nodded and walked out the screen door while Steven stayed behind, walking closer to where I lay.

"Okay, this is gonna seem weird, and maybe a little gross, but just trust me on this. I've found that this is the easiest way for humans."

There was no more hesitation as suddenly Steven descended upon me, covering my mouth with his own in a gentle, chaste kiss. He didn't linger as he stood again to full height. I opened my mouth to yell, scream, throw a fit, whatever I could think of, before I suddenly felt a warm tingle rush over me, starting from my lips. I could feel as more blood flowed through my veins, as my body felt like it was becoming stronger, maybe possibly even heavier. Within moments, I felt as though I had never missed a meal in my life, and I was as fit as a horse. The sensation seemed so familiar and it made for something I didn't even know what it was.

My eyes widening as I sat up, my jaw was open in shock as I looked at my arms. They looked slightly fuller, not as thin as they had been. All of my aches and pains from weeks of traveling were gone, and I felt like I could climb the tallest mountain in the world. Oh my _God_!

"S-Steven! What did you just do? What the hell just happened?" I was trying to figure out all the right questions to ask, but they came out garbled as my disbelief held strong.

Smiling but still holding that sadness in his eyes, Steven sat beside me. "Like I said, it's kinda gross, but I have healing spit. I figured out years ago that kissing to use that power is a lot less offensive to girls than spitting on them. Guys just have to deal with it. It doesn't bother me, but I don't dance to that kind of drum."

My mind was running a millions miles a minute, and I was only ten seconds away from having a complete meltdown before I reminded myself – One step at a time.

My next step needed to be answers.

"S-So..." I started, looking nervously at the handsome hybrid as I breathed heavily. "So one of you powers is the ability to heal things with saliva. Okay." I breathed deeply, telling myself to toughen up. It was just a small kiss. I may not have known the guy, but it was obvious he was telling the truth since I suddenly felt like I could run a marathon. "That makes kissing me a lot less weird. I can deal with that."

"Sorry I didn't give ya much warning," Steven said, smiling at me sheepishly.

"It... It's fine." I guess I didn't have a choice but to be okay with it. It happened. And I was healed. Or better. Or... Whatever you would call it.

"So, do you have someone you want to call and let know you're alright...?" he asked nervously. I assumed it was because he remembered me skirting his questions the night before.

"No," I said quickly, shaking my head.

"Um... Okay..." he said uncertainly, shifting to sit directly beside me on the couch I had been on. "Well, if you're all better, I can take you home."

"No!" I protested again, standing up quickly. Trying to reign in the terror in my voice, I continued, "I'm – I'm fine. I really appreciate you doing... _that_ for me, but I can get myself home. You've already done so much – "

Right as those words were trying to come out, Garnet strolled casually through the screen door and faced Steven. "Amethyst bet herself that she could eat the entire beach. You might want to stop her."

"No! I love that beach!" Steven said with the terrified voice of a twelve year old. It didn't take but a second before he was out the door. As soon as the screen slammed behind him, Garnet faced me.

I could feel myself wilting down under her gaze, even though I couldn't even see it. Then she said, "You might want to tell Steven before nightfall, or he's going to find out for himself."

"What do you mean?" I asked nervously, cocking my head to the side.

"I know where you've been staying." My eyes widen as she said that. "I also know that you're too stubborn to ask for help. But if you don't tell Steven, he _will_ find out, and very soon. I'm sure he'd be able to accept it better if you told him rather than let him find out on his own. He wouldn't take it well."

"What do you know? _How_ do you know?" I asked incredulously.

Adjusting her shades, she gave me a small smirk and said, "All Gems have their own abilities."

I let that statement hang in the air before I quietly asked, "Why wouldn't you just tell him?"

Turning to face outside, Garnet responded, "Everyone has their own reasons for keeping secrets. I just thought you should know that you do have a choice, and Steven is unlike any person in the universe so he might surprise you. However, it's not my business to interfere. My gift was not given to me so I could control the world around me."

Walking outside with Garnet, I saw Steven chasing Amethyst down the beach as Pearl sat and watched disapprovingly. As Garnet and I approached the shore, Steven noticed and ran back to us, laughing and slightly out of breath.

"Jeez, Steven," Amethyst poked. "I know you're half-human but you shouldn't be _sooo_ slow."

"Aww, I was letting you win," Steven teased, a huffing a little as Amethyst poked her tongue out at him. Turning to face me, Steven said, "So, are you going home now?"

Looking nervously to Garnet, I saw her give the slightest hint of a nod. "Um, actually, I was wondering if you might want to go for a walk first...?"

"That sounds good!" he said happily. Waving to the three Gems, he said, "I'll be back later, guys! I showed you how to work a cell phone twenty years ago so you know how to reach me!"

With that, I turned and began walking around the cliff side, every nerve in my body bouncing nervously as I was about to foolishly accept that woman I didn't know's advise. Steven ran up beside me, smiling as he matched my much shorter stride.

"So, did you and Garnet talk about anything?" he asked, which made me suspicious that he might have already known something.

"Kinda. I'll tell you about it when we get there."

Steven and I walked around the beach to where my crack in the cliff was visible. Steven looked around, immediately recognizing it. "Hey, this is where we were last night."

"Yeah," I said morosely, sitting in the damp sand and drawing my knees to my chest while wrapping my arms around them.

Steven sat beside me, looking at me oddly. "What going on?"

Closing my eyes, I took a deep breath, thinking myself crazy for even thinking that he'd care. That that Garnet woman cared, or Pearl. Why should anyone care about me?

Opening my eyes, I looked sadly in the direction of the hole in the side of the cliff. "You see that crag in the cliff side?"

Steven gave me a look that said he thought I had lost my mind, but he answered anyways. "Yeah. It's been there as long as I've been alive. Or, well, been me."

More Gem stuff. I needed to concentrate and learn to get use to it, so I glossed over that and continued, "Well, I've... It's... Kinda where I've been staying."

"What?" Steven asked with a hint of skepticism. Hmm. Maybe he didn't know anything about it.

"I ran away from my old life, Steven," I confessed, digging my shoes into the sand. "And I kept running until I came here." Standing up, I walked to the hole and grabbed my bag from it, showing the dirty green knapsack to him. "This is everything I own. I..." Looking ashamedly at the hole, my cheeks only flamed redder. "I have nothing. I have no car, no money, no home. I'm not what you think! I lost my parents when I was sixteen in a car accident and since then I've suffered with amnesia! I don't even remember what my parents looked like! I have no idea who they even were... I had absolutely no identification when I was found and when I woke up my mind was a blank slate!"

Steven stood and walked to where I was standing, looking into the small crag. He almost seemed speechless as he looked up at me.

As the silence continued on, I could feel myself beginning to panic so I said, "I just wanted to be a new person in a new place! I didn't want to be anyone's burden, and I literally just met you _yesterday_!"

Suddenly, I felt strong, muscled arms wrap me up tightly in a hug, and I think it almost had me shell-shocked.

"Aria," he finally said, not letting me go. "I know you don't really know me, but I really do care about you, and I feel like we have a connection. And I don't like how I feel about all this. It... It makes me really sad that you thought your only option was to crawl into a hole. And you were literally starving. If I had known, I would have gladly let you eat everything I own."

Backing away lightly from Steven, I looked up at him as my eyes tried to water (why the hell was I trying to cry?) and said, "You don't owe me anything. And I didn't tell you. That was one thing Garnet said to me. She knew I'm a very stubborn person."

"Well," Steven said, his mood lightening immediately. Was this guy for real? "I don't care how stubborn you are, I'm a lot more stubborn. You're coming to live at the beach house – "

"What? No way – !" Who did this guy think he was?

"Yes way!" he said, raising his voice only slightly. "Look, I know you don't know me, but I know that you're a good person and no one should be without a home! There's a ton of room in my house. You can stay however long you want."

My mind went back and forth between wanting to bail and just start all over again or to just give in. I didn't want him to think I didn't want to be his friend, because, to be honest, I _really_ , _really_ wanted to get to know him better. But I also wasn't a moocher.

"Steven, I..." I hesitated, trying to think of the right words to say. The pleading look he was giving me sent shivers down my spine, and suddenly I was saying the complete opposite of what I had intended. "Thank you. Since I have that job with your dad now, I'll be able to pay you back every cent.

Steven looked at me like I had just insulted his mother (which I would _never_ do). "What? No! You don't have to pay anything!"

Raising a questioning eyebrow, I said, "Um, yeah, I do. Food and electricity and indoor plumbing all cost money. I'm not going to let someone I met yesterday just pay my way! I can do it myself."

Steven's throaty laugh burst forth, startling me slightly. "All of our stuff is run by magic. Well, the food isn't magic, but me and the Gems make a lot of money selling non-magical artifacts we find on missions and stuff. As far as I know, we've always had money."

I didn't know what to say to that. I had every intention of earning my way through to being on my own, but it didn't seem like Steven was going to budge much on the subject.

The two of us sat there until the sunset in silence, a mutual understanding finally between us.


	4. Chapter 4

The next six weeks seemed to go by in a blur. I started my job for Mr. Universe, which paid decently enough for me to start keeping my head above water. No one seemed to bring up the "Connie" girl I seemed to look so much like, and the topic of my amnesia seemed to be hush-hush as well.

It had been a strange six weeks to say the least. Steven wasted no time in explaining basically everything he knew about gems and the universe. The first time he had me use the warp pad with him, I almost had a complete meltdown and had to sit with Steven for two hours in the sky arena while he calmed me down enough to get the nerve to go back. It took close to three weeks for him to convince me to use it again. I didn't know why, but even though it terrified me I'm, I couldn't help but feel something warm deep in my chest. It was like smelling pine and thinking of a Christmas tree.

Everyone in the house – well, temple, technically – had fell into an almost uncomfortably comfortable routine with me thrown into the mix. They let me occupy the space that Steven apparently used before he learned to control his mother's old room. It took about a full month for me to finally understand everything that I could about the Crystal Gems. Pearl was obviously the motherly figure, making sure everything stayed clean and that Steven was taken care of. Garnet was just as strong and silent as ever, but she still would maintain short conversations with me when I asked about the gem stuff. I thought Amethyst was actually pretty funny, even if she was also a bit gross. It was clear she cared for Steven just as much as Pearl and Garnet, she just had a rebellious streak. From what I understood, she was the only gem that wasn't from Homeworld (asides from Steven, of course, who was a special exception).

My work for Mr. Universe was going very well. I was basically his record-keeper, which didn't take much for a car wash. Steven would come by often to see me while I was working, even though I had been sleeping in the loft of his home so he could see me at any time. But he was just friendly like that.

There were a couple of times where I wouldn't see the four gems for two or three days at a time while they went on missions. When I asked what kind of missions they went on, they began explaining their most recent war with the Cluster and Yellow Diamond, and that there were still rogue fused gem shards they were trying to take out. They had been killing and bubbling those remaining gem experiments for nearly twenty years, and as I understood it, Steven was still basically a teenager when he fought in the war.

It made me question Steven's age, but I had yet to bring it up. He looked like he was in his early twenties, but I knew that couldn't be right. He acted so young despite his _very grown_ appearance. The Gems encouraged questions to make me feel more at ease, so I was waiting for their return from a mission so I could learn more. I hated sitting around and waiting, but it was the weekend and I had only scrounged up half the amount of money I needed for my own place.

Every time I mentioned my inevitable move, Steven would tense up or change the subject. When he saw me looking through ads for places to rent, he'd immediately ask me to do something with him to distract me. I saw his ploy, but I didn't feel like a prisoner. I liked staying in the beach house, and it was nice having Steven around.

Suddenly, I heard the warp pad activate, which prompted me to set down the book I had been reading and stand. Watching the pad, I saw the bright white light beam down onto it before the Gems appeared. Immediately, Steven was jumping off the platform and running towards me.

"Aria! Check out what I found today!" he said excitedly, stopping within a couple feet of me before opening his hand. Sitting in it was a beautiful silver bracelet that was set with a small greenish-mostly-blue stone. "It's called labradorite! I thought you might like it, 'cause the blue makes our eyes really shine."

I felt a small blush appear on my cheeks as Steven grabbed my left wrist and fastened the bracelet to it. "The gems are pretty sure that it's just a bracelet. We can't sense any presence in the stone so it's safe. Just regular jewelry."

I let out a sigh of relief I didn't realize I had been holding. After the things I was learning about gems, I was skeptical of all forms of stone. Smiling as I looked at it, I said, "Wow. Thanks, Steven. It's really beautiful."

"So, how's your day been?" he asked, immediately leading me outside to the deck as the others left to their respective spaces. Sitting in the chairs beneath the umbrella, we both looked out to the sea. It had kind of become our ritual. Whenever Steven would return from a mission, he and I would sit and wait until the sun set over the horizon, talking and laughing about everything and nothing. I figured it was the perfect time to ask him.

"Same old, same old," I responded simply, shrugging my shoulders. "So, Steven," I started off slowly. "Exactly how old are you? If you don't mind me asking, of course."

Steven smiled. "Of course not! Technically, I've existed for almost 24 years, but I stopped aging about three years ago, so my body is twenty-one. As for my gem, I only know that it existed through my mom for several thousands of years. According to the Gems, I won't get any older, and I'll only die if I'm hurt really bad."

' _Wow_ ," I thought to myself. ' _His whole world is a completely new level of existence_.' "What about your gem? Does your physical body dying destroy it, too?"

Steven looked out into the waves thoughtfully, squinting his eyes a bit. "Hmm... The Gems aren't sure, but they don't think so. If my physical body is killed, there's a chance that my gem will either regenerate my mom or me. If it's me, I would be a full gem then. No human. But if my gem is destroyed, it'll be all over."

I stared in awe at Steven, loving listening to his and the gems' theories and stories. It was so fascinating, and I never knew what to say about it. Looking down at my hands in my lap, I contemplated what his life must have been like. He would no longer age. But he could still die. But possibly not. Letting my hair rest around my face as I continued to stare at my hands, I said softly, "It's gotta be scary... Not knowing..."

"A little," he said with a shrug, his face highlighted in red and orange as the sun began to dip below the horizon. "But, it doesn't matter. My shield is pretty strong, and I've gotten really good with my mother's sword. Pearl says it will probably take me a few thousand years to become as good as her and the others, but if I work hard, I'll reach my full potential in no time. I've already mastered most of my gem powers."

"Could... Will you show me?" I asked hesitantly, blushing slightly as I nervously wound a lock of hair around my finger.

"Show you my gem powers?" Steven asked, almost sounding surprised as his eyebrows shot up.

Blushing even more furiously, I ground out, "You don't have to – "

"I'd LOVE to!" Steven said excitedly, sitting up quickly from his seat. Suddenly, he kind of deflated a little before saying, "But I could only show you my true powers in the sky arena. It's too dangerous here, and you don't seem to handle warping very well."

Looking out at the setting sun, I thought to myself quietly for a moment. Yes, warping scared the hell out of me, but it honestly wasn't that bad. My main fear was that it was something new, something different. But if I was going to make Beach City my home, then I was going to have to just get over it and embrace it (if what I read in that spaz guy's blog was true, then that meant everyone in town was pretty well used to it).

"I don't care," I finally said defiantly, clenching my fists. "I'll learn to handle it."

"Well, if you're sure..." Steven said uncertainly, shifting in his seat. "Do you wanna go now?"

Looking out uncertainly at the sunset, I furrowed my brow. If I didn't go ahead and immerse myself, the harder it was going to be.

"Yeah. Let's go." Standing from my chair, I barely even had time to adjust my shirt before Steven was grabbing my hand and dragging me behind, straight into the temple and to the warp pad.

Letting go of my hand, he looked at me nervously again before asking, "You sure about this?"

Steeling myself, I nodded. "Yes. I can do this."

"Okay. Here we go," he said, barely making a motion with his arms before we were surrounded by the almost blinding white light. I was tense, but curious as well. We seemed to be traveling at such a fast speed, but I hardly felt anything at all except for the floating feeling. The stream of light was going faster than I could ever hope to see, but it just looked so interesting...

"Aria, don't!" Steven said suddenly, grabbing my hand in his much larger paw. I hadn't realized that I was actually reaching out to touch the stream until I got caught. Grabbing me around the waist and pulling me closer to himself, he said worriedly, "Outside the stream is huge, and scary, and cold. There's not a whole lot of air, either. It's really, really dangerous..." Turning his head so I couldn't see his expression while taking a deep breath, he said, "Just, don't bother with it. I know it looks cool, but I got lost out there once and I almost died. I don't want you going through that."

"Steven..."

Whipping his head to look at me, I opened my mouth to talk before I was suddenly interrupted.

"Steven! Aria!" Looking down, I could see Amethyst advancing on us. When she got on our level, she said, "Where ya goin'? I saw you use the warp pad and – "

Suddenly, it seemed we had reached our destination, because I could suddenly feel gravity once more and my balance was much too poor to allow me to land on my feet. Falling forward, I could see the warp pad below me, so I let out a small squeak as I braced for impact.

The impact never came, and I opened my eyes to see Steven easily holding me out in front of him in his arms. I looked up at him as his eyes shined brightly with mirth. "Don't worry," he said, setting me on my feet. "I gotcha."

Straightening myself out, I nervously twisted my hair around my finger and looked back at him. "Thank you, Steven."

"It's no problem," he beamed. "It kinda sucked when I used the warp pad the first few times. The balance you need takes some getting used to."  
Smiling, I nodded and looked at the other quartz. "So, you were saying Amethyst?"

"Oh yeah!" she said, steeping off the pad and standing in front of us. "So I saw you use the warp pad and I wanted to be nosy. Why did you come to the sky arena?"

Steven smiled, grabbing me by the hand gently and dragging me into the half-destroyed battlefield. Amethyst followed behind, and I could hear her gem activate and the sudden sound of whips. "Is there a fusion monster here? Do we get to kill something?"

"No," Steven laughed, having me sit on the first row of seats. Looking at Amethyst, he said, "Aria just wanted to see my gem powers and I figured this would be the safest place."

"Aw, heck yeah!" Amethyst exclaimed, dispersing her whip and skipping ahead. "Hey, we can even spar so she can see gems in action!"

"That's a great idea, Amethyst!" Steven exclaimed. Backing away from the two of us, Steven said, "Okay, so the first thing is my bubble."

Immediately, Steven seemed to be engulfed in a giant pink rose, only for the petals to disappear and show Steven inside a giant pink bubble. I looked at it curiously before he said, "It's almost completely unbreakable." For added effect, he beat on the side a bit, showing it's solidity. "And, if I'm surrounded by enemies, I can expand it and do this – !"

Suddenly, the large, pink bubble swelled outwards swiftly before exploding. It looked like the blast did a lot of damage, because the ground beneath him crackled and broke into a small crater.

For a moment, I froze. Something about the sight of his bubble made me have a sense of de-ja-vu something fierce. But just as quickly as it had come, it had gone.

"Then there's my shield that I showed you," he smiled, manifesting a large, pink shield. I returned my attention back to him. For added effect, he made it change sizes from as small as a dish to as large as a satellite. Looking at Amethyst, he asked, "Wanna show her?"

Amethyst's eyes lit up at she ran forward, drawing a studded whip from her gem and lashing it at Steven. Bracing himself, Steven let the whip clang easily off of his shield before he ducked down and threw his shield at Amethyst. She seemed to know he intended for her to dodge it, because she rolled out of the way and let the shield destroy the pillar that was behind her. Dust flew into the air, and for a moment I couldn't see either gems.

"I hope you didn't want that to actually hit me, 'cause I don't feel like spending the next hour regenerating."

That was Amethyst's voice.

"Course not," I heard Steven say as the dust cloud settled. "I wouldn't want to accidentally damage your gem again like last time."

Finally, I could see the two as Steven swept an arm out to clear the remaining debris. Walking back to me, Amethyst propped herself against a column and trained her focus on Steven. The gems seemed to do that a lot. Watch Steven. But they had already explained why. He was actually very young compared to the others, and they felt it was their duty to protect him and teach him to honor his mother.

Looking at me, Steven said, "I can also grow things that fight for me! But I haven't done that since the war. It's too dangerous, cause it can get out of hand fast." Suddenly, Steven whistled, which confused me until I felt the arena quake. Suddenly, a pink-colored portal opened a few feet from Steven, where a giant pink lion suddenly jumped out of.

"Holy shit!" I screamed out, trying to climb the rows to put distance between me and the predator.

"No, Aria, it's okay!" Steven said. To make a point, he walked up the the lion and pet its lush, pink mane, even though the lion made it clear that he wanted to approach me. "He's my pet lion! Well, he was my mom's, but he listens to me most of the time. It took a few years, but we've finally come to an understanding."

"How could you have a pet lion and me not know?" I asked incredulously, not coming down from my high spot in the stands. "I've been living in your house for almost two months!"

"Oh, yeah," Steven said, rubbing his neck as the lion finally gave up and lie down next to him peacefully on the ground. "Well, ever since the war, I asked Lion to search out the gem experiments and destroy them. Well, except, he can't really bubble them, so he stores the shards in his mane so I can go in later to destroy them again and bubble them."

" _He stores them in his mane_?" I asked skeptically, taking a couple of steps back down the stands, enthralled by this obviously tame and magical creature.

"Well, yeah," Steven said. Without warning, I watched as Steven went to pet the lion again, only his hand went straight into the fur, glowing a soft light. Only a moment later, from the lion's freakin' _mane_ , Steven pulled out a massive pink sword that shared the same symbol as several other of his mom's artifacts. "His mane goes to a whole separate dimension that we think my mom made, but only I can go in there because Lion is somehow tied to my gem." Gently, Steven slid the sword back into the lion's mane and faced me again. Laughing aloud, he said, "You can come back down, Aria. Lion wouldn't hurt a fly."

I really wanted to trust Steven, and I needed to get used to that kind of stuff, so I nodded slowly before inching my way back down to the first row. I was mostly in shock, because that sword seemed to stir something in me as well. What on Earth was happening to me? Was I getting sick?

"Alright," Steven said, clasping his hands together. "Well, you've seen my healing powers, and unless I wanted to destroy this arena even more, I can't really show you much of my super strength. Oh! But I can shape-shift!"

Bending down, I watched as Steven turned into light and began changing shape. As the light faded away, I could see that he had morphed into... me.

"Whoa, what the hell?" I exclaimed, running forward to examine the slightly pink version of myself, accurate down to the very last freckle. "Oh my God, Steven! This is incredible!"

"I know! It's so cool right? One day I might even show you fusion, but I don't think you're ready for that, yet," my doppelganger responded in Steven's voice, slightly forlorn. Looking at Amethyst, he suddenly morphed back into himself and said to the other quartz, "So, Amethyst? Ready to spar?"

"Yeeaaahhh!" she said proudly, running forward and drawing the same whip from earlier from her gem.

...

The rest of the evening was spent watching Steven and Amethyst fight to their heart's content. There was a couple of times that I was worried they had been seen seriously injured, but they would always pop back up and keep going. It was easy to see that Amethyst and Steven were as close to siblings as they could get. They fought and taunted and laughed as they easily made their way around the arena, dueling and having fun.

When Steven finally tired out (which was his human side – gems didn't get tired easily), he called it a draw with Amethyst and suggested that we all go back to the temple.

"So what'd ya think?" Amethyst pried as we approached the warp pad. "Pretty cool, huh?"

"That was..." I hesitated, trying to look for the right word. "Intense. You all are so powerful!"

"Yeah," Amethyst said casually as she stretched out her back. Once the three of us had mounted the warp pad, we were once again immediately engulfed in the white light. I could feel the instant weightlessness. Amethyst continued, "We've had a long time to get to where we are. If your interested one day, I might train you a little in hand-to-hand. Never know when ya might need it."

Steven exclaimed, "That'd be awesome!" before he clapped me on the back good-naturedly, but it threw me off balance and suddenly, as though in slow motion, I found myself outside the stream of white light, floating away from it in an unending, cold and black void where I was just as weightless. I could immediately feel the lack of oxygen, and my fingers were already numb from the cold.

 _Oh my God..._

Without warning, I felt something snake around my waist, pinching quickly before pulling me backwards. The light came back into view, and suddenly I was through, being pulled in by Amethyst's whip. As soon as I was inside the light I gasped out for air, shivering harshly as I coughed and spluttered.

"Aria!" I heard Steven exclaim as large, warm arms wrapped around me. Holding me against him with my head to his chest, he said worriedly, "Are you okay? Take deep breaths!" I did as he said as his did his best to his body heat to warm me. "Aria, I'm so sorry!" I heard him say with obvious regret and panic. "I'm such a klutz sometimes and – "

"It..." I tried to say through chattering teeth. "It's okay... Steven... I know... It was an accident... Th-thank you... Amethyst."

I couldn't stop the shivers running through me, but Steven holding me helped a lot with warming me back up. I felt the gravity return as we reached the temple's warp pad, but Steven didn't let me go as we made the landing easily.

"Here," Steven said, sweeping me fully into his arms and carrying me across the living room and to the fireplace. He set me gently on the floor and immediately went to his small closet. When he turned back around, I saw the blankets he was holding in his arms. "We need to get you warm."

Steven walked over to where I was sitting and fitted three separate blankets around me. Looking at the fireplace, Steven quirked an amused eyebrow at me before thrusting his palm out. A bright light blinded me, but only for a moment, then I could suddenly see a fire blazing in the grate.

Steven smiled his adorable grin at me as he sat down beside the hearth. "Most gems have a little elemental powers of their own. Pearl can control earth, Amethyst has recently found out she can do small tricks with water, I found out during the war that I could make fire."

"What about Garnet?" I asked curiously. I heard Amethyst scoff as the door to her room opened then closed. I assumed she had left the room, so I looked intently at Steven.

"Um, well..." Steven started, obviously looking for the right words to say. "Garnet is kind of a long story, and it's not really mine to tell..."

We both suddenly heard a voice behind us, causing us to jump slightly. It was Garnet, standing in the kitchen. "It's alright Steven. You can tell her."

I looked stricken, but Steven only nodded. "Garnet is actually a fusion, but not like those monsters we hunt. She's actually two gems, Sapphire and Ruby. Sapphire and Ruby love each other so much that they never want to be apart, so they stay fused as Garnet. Sapphire has future vision and the ability to control ice, and Ruby has a bit of a temper which matches her pyrotechnical talents."

Steven smiled at Garnet, as though asking if he got it right.

"That's right Steven. Though I am technically comprised of two gems, their love for each other is bound so strongly that I easily maintain my single fusion form." Garnet adjusted her shades once more, giving a slight smirk.

"Wow," I breathed, finally feeling the numbness of my fingers and toes ebb away. "That's... That sounds like some serious love."

"It is," was all Garnet said before walking to the warp pad and warping out.

I finally felt myself warm up enough to have Steven extinguish the fire and unwrap the blankets from me. Once it was decided that I was going to move into the beach house, Amethyst immediately took it upon herself to procure some clothes for me. Everything she got me seemed expensive but simple, which made me question where she got everything from. As of that moment, I was wearing an bright blue camisole and with black yoga pants. Even though I preferred to go barefoot, she had forced me into a pair of electric blue high-tops.

Straightening my top, Steven stood before I could and helped me up. "Are you sure you're okay, Aria? It's pretty scary outside the warp."

Steven towered over me easily by at least a foot, if not more, so I had to crane my neck up to smile lightly at him. "I'm fine, Steven. Let's just go out on the beach for a little while."

As Steven and I walked out onto the beach, I noted that the sun seemed to have just risen. I knew that warping did strange things to time, so I could only hope that I wasn't missing work. Steven and I rested in the sand in front of the temple, admiring the waves as they became brighter with the rising sun.

"Hey," I said quietly, gently setting a hand on Steven's shoulder. Smiling shyly, I asked, "Wanna get some breakfast from the Big Donut?"

Smiling back at me, he said, "Alright – "

He cut himself short as he noticed something. His brow immediately furrowed in worry as he looked at me before saying, "You didn't say you got hurt!"

"Wha?" I asked confusedly. Following Steven's eyes, I finally saw what he did. All the way around my midsection, there were inch-long slits horizontally surrounding my waist, and they were each stained with blood.

"Oh!" I gasped in surprise, bringing a hand to my mouth to cover it. "I... I didn't realize."

Looking around quickly, Steven seemed to be deciding on what to do.

"It's not a big deal Steven," I tried to brush off, standing to my feet and trying to walk back up to the beach house. "I mean, they don't feel like they'll kill me – "

Suddenly, Steven shot a hand out and grabbed me by the wrist, easily pulling me to him. Our faces were mere inches from one another, and I found myself lost deep in his depths. Returning my admiring gaze, he said lowly, "I don't care. You got hurt and it was my fault. Will you let me at least fix it?"

I felt my knees almost turn to jelly as this attractive man stood before me, offering to heal me by kissing me, which only seemed like something that happened in fairy tales. I was mesmerized by his seemingly unending eyes, so I could only manage a small nod.

With that consent, Steven pulled me closer and bent his head down, connecting his lips with mine. Unlike the previous time when he healed me, though, this time he didn't let go immediately. I felt one of his hands snake its way through my hair as I felt his tongue slide tantalizingly over my bottom lip. I couldn't help but wrap my arms around his neck cautiously, returning the kiss with just as much tenderness as he was giving me.

As we pulled away, I could have sworn I heard him say in the most silent, pained whine, "Connie..."


	5. Chapter 5

Two months had passed since we had shared that kiss, but we had never talked about it or mentioned it. Fortunately, I always had the excellent excuse of work to get out of talking about it. Technically, _I_ was the one avoiding the subject. I know we both felt something that last time he kissed me to heal me from the wounds Amethyst's whip left, and I hated myself for letting it happen. Steven agreed to not tell Amethyst, but we both still knew. I had already told myself that I wasn't going to get involved with anyone. I was past that. I needed a life of my own before I started thinking about taking on the responsibility of another person.

Another reason I couldn't let it happen was that I had already grown way too attached to Steven. Every time he and the gems would go on missions, I would worry myself sick, even though I had only known the gems for three and a half months. My work was going extremely well, and it was only a month after the warp stream incident that I finally had the money to get a place of my own.

It wasn't a large space by any means, but it was perfect for me. The place I found was actually an oceanfront apartment on the opposite side of the boardwalk from the temple. It only had one bedroom and one bath, but it was just me, so what did it matter? It came furnished, thankfully, but it was sparsely so, so Steven took it upon himself to start bringing me "awesome stuff" from their missions to help decorate the rather plain apartment.

Steven actually initially handled my move-out very poorly. When I announced to him and the gems that I finally had enough money to move out, he almost became distraught at the thought of me leaving. He kind of flipped out, and when I told him my decision was final, he stormed off to the warp pad and left. To where, no one knew. The gems assured me that he would come back and even offered to help me move. I politely declined, however, seeing as all my possessions could easily be carried in one trip. I still didn't own much, just the clothes Amethyst had procured for me and the trinkets that Steven brought back from their missions.

It was about the third day after I had moved into my apartment that I finally caved and went over to the beach house, determined to see if Steven had come back yet. He had, and he was very distant with me as I tried to talk to him. After thinking of and trying every single thing I knew to get him to forgive me, I finally wore him down after I told him he could stay over and visit any time he wanted to.

I guess the thought of sleepovers excited him, though it was strange for someone his age.

After Steven and I had talked, he seemed to make a point where we saw each other almost every single day unless he was gone on a mission.

I hadn't really done anything with the gem stuff since the warp pad incident, so I stayed pretty well unharmed asides from my clumsiness. It wasn't like I was _looking_ for an excuse to kiss him again, because I knew it was something I didn't need. I knew it was something that I didn't _need_ to need. He was only acting that way because I looked like "Connie". It was a nightmare, trying to live up to this incredible legend of a girl who had disappeared. The way he looked at me when he wanted to heal me was so sincere, but I couldn't shake the knowing that he was seeing _her_.

Steven on the other hand, even if it was just a scrape, would jump in and offer to make it better. I turned him down every single time, know that was how things would start which would inevitably end.

As of the moment, a month after moving in, I was loading dishes into my dishwasher, trying to finish cleaning up while I had the day off. The gems were off on a mission and had been gone for two days, which I found as excellent time to finally straighten up my usually messy apartment.

Pouring the liquid dish washing soap into the tray, I shut the door and pressed the button, turning on my last load of dishes. As I looked around, I smiled satisfactorily at the clean, pine-sol induced smell.

After transferring my clothes from the washer to the dryer, I decided to hop in the shower to clean off the grime of the day. I figured I had nothing else to do, so I decided to make it a lavish bath so I could relax.

...

I finally relented on getting out of my bath after about forty-five minutes, when the water started to get cold. Using the towel as best I could to dry my hair, I finally gave up and wrapped the towel around me, making my way through the steamy bathroom and into the cool hallway. Padding across the carpet, I reached for my bedroom doorknob before I suddenly noticed that someone was in the living room. I had given Steven an extra key to my apartment, because he was obviously the only person I could trust with it, so I called out, "Hey, Steven! I'm gonna go change and I'll be right out!"

Opening my bedroom door, I didn't hear him respond but I continued on my way to finding something to wear. Yelling out, I said, "So, how'd your mission go?"

"Who's Steven?"

My heart clenched in my chest, and I could feel my entire body practically freeze up. The voice was only a few feet behind me and it wasn't Steven's. But I did know whose it was, which was worse. Still clenching my towel around me I took a shaky breath before asking quietly, "How... How did you find me?"

"God, Aria, you've always been such an idiot!" the man's voice ground out, causing me to hunch down slightly in fear. "You can never run from me. Now, turn around and look at me. Who the hell is this Steven?"

My breathing had become shallow, and my mind was reeling with what I should do. My heart beat furiously against my chest as my fingers only clenched tighter around my towel.

"Don't make me tell you twice."

Tears had already sprung to my eyes, but I knew I had no choice but to listen to him. As slow as I could, head down, I turned to face the owner of the voice. Standing there was exactly who I knew it to be. Standing almost to Steven's height with messy brown hair and an unkempt five o' clock shadow, pale blue eyes stared me down harshly as my body trembled.

"J-James... What... What are you doing here? I told you I never wanted... I never wanted to see you again." I could feel a panic attack coming on, and if it did, that meant I would lose. I could never keep a level head during a panic attack.

"You didn't tell me _shit_!" he barked out, baring down on me. "You grabbed a fucking bag and just _left_! Do you know how that made me _feel_ , Aria?"

"James, I... I tried to tell you. I told you it was over – "

"And _I_ told you that it's not over until I _say_ it's over!" he yelled angrily, winding back his arm and backhanding me hard enough to knock me to the floor. I could feel blood welling up in my mouth.

Trying to use my arms to shield myself, I said desperately, "Please, James! I'm sorry I don't love you like you want me to – !"

Backhanding me again, I fell to the floor once more, my eyes swimming. Yelling again, he said, "You never gave me a chance! I can get you to love me, Aria!"

As he said that, I felt his hands wrap around me and lift me from the floor. I kicked out and screamed, but it was no use as he tossed me onto the bed. I didn't have time to roll out of the way before he was on top of me. Bucking wildly, I screamed out, "Please don't do this!"

I suddenly felt a cool breeze on my chest, and I looked down to see that James had ripped my towel away from me. Screaming in horror, I struggled as hard as I could against his grasp as he tried to undo his pants. "Aria, sweetheart, I can show you how to love me. Let me show you how to love me."

"No!" I screamed out as I heard his zipper. "This isn't how you do this, James!"

"Come on," he whispered into my ear menacing as I heard his pants slide down. "We were so close. Just a little more and I could have had you. You just need to let me show you..."

"No, James!" I screamed. "Taking someone's virginity by force is not how you get them to love you!" By this point, I could stop the tears that rolled down my face as I only became weaker and weaker. I was using up all of my energy, and my resistance was fading fast.

"You'll learn," he growled into my ear, biting into my neck harshly as he pulled my bare hips up to meet his. Forcing my legs open, he settled between them, at which I started sobbing uncontrollably. Trying to think of something, anything to get me out, I thrust my palm upward, making contact with his nose. I was sure I felt a break, and blood immediately began to pour from it, but it only took him a second to shake it off before using his elbows to slam me back down. Fiery agony overcame me as I was sure my collarbone had snapped, and he had to add insult to injury by punching me across the face.

"You stupid bitch, you broke my nose!"

With that, I felt a moment more tense than anything in my life as I suddenly felt him plunge into me fully. The pain was real, and it seemed like every nerve I had was on fire as I cried out in anguish. James left no time to spare as he began rough, thorough strokes. I couldn't do anything but cry.

"Aria! Are you okay?" I heard Steven's alarmed voice shout through the apartment. "I heard you screaming and – "

"Steven, help – !" I tried to scream out before I felt another blow cross my face. I could only see out of one eye at that point, the rest of my face swollen from the abuse.

"Hey, get the hell off of her!" I heard Steven yelled angrily, obviously having made it to the bedroom.

James stopped his motion, glancing over his shoulder at the man he didn't know. All I could see was an evil smirk as he continued his harsh ministrations. I was crying freely at this point, but I couldn't pinpoint exactly what hurt the most. My body, or my heart. "Stop, please!" I begged weakly.

It didn't take but a millisecond after I had said that that I suddenly felt the weight of James completely be removed from on top of me and the pain finally seemed to subside. Looking with one swollen eye, I watched as Steven had James by the throat, slammed against the wall. The look of fury on Steven's face was one I had never seen from him, and at that moment, even _I_ was a little terrified.

"So this is what you do?" Steven asked dangerously, indicating to me on the bed. Realizing I was still naked, I grabbed my sheet and used it to cover myself for modesty's sake. "You go around, taking stuff that isn't yours? Taking away people's _choices_?"

James snarled as he grappled against Steven's too-strong grasp around his throat. "She _is_ mine! She promised herself to me, and then she just fucking _left_! She doesn't realize how to love me, but I will show her."

"No!" Steven said, the air in the room getting hotter by the minute as rage emanated from Steven. "She isn't yours, she isn't anybody's! And even if she was, that still gave you _no_ right to do _that_! You are the worst kind of scum."

With that statement, Steven couldn't seem to control himself as he slammed his fist into James' face, effectively burying him through the wall and out into the open as concrete and bits of bricked rained down.

James was officially KO'ed, but that didn't stop the persistent shivers and sobs that I couldn't hold back. Steven took a moment to stare down the unconscious man before looking at me. Obviously seeing my distress, he immediately came to my side, making sure the sheet was tucked snugly around me before pulling me into his oversized arms. I cried out in pain as I felt the break in my collarbone, as well as the pounding headache from all the blows.

"Oh, God, Aria. He hurt you pretty bad," Steven said with an almost frantic voice. Looking around quickly, he asked, "I know you just went through something awful and probably never want to do this again, but can I please kiss you to heal you at least? I'll be gentle."

I didn't bother saying anything. I was in such agony that all I could do was lean my head and swiftly kiss his lips. All the physical pain I could feel immediately dissipated, but the terror and anxiety that gripped my mind and chest remained. I couldn't stop the sobs that escaped my lips, the trembling of my body as I replayed everything over and over in my mind. Though Steven knew I was healed, he still let his embrace be as gentle as possible.

After about thirty minutes of me trying to calm down to tell Steven what had happened, the police finally arrived. At that point, they wanted me to come with them and give them a statement, but I didn't want to go. I didn't want to explain everything. It was supposed to all be in the past. Why couldn't it all just stay in the past?

The police chief finally let me give my statement without going down to the police department, but Steven still had to because he was the one that had technically knocked out James. When Steven found out they were going to be leaving me alone, he immediately had Pearl come get me and take me to the temple. I felt safer there than anywhere, and the gems were wise enough to know that no words needed to be spoken and I just needed to be alone. I could feel rage emanate from Garnet and Amethyst as Pearl dolefully explained what had happened, but I could feel Garnet's fury with a much more pronounced vibe.

When Pearl finished explaining, Amethyst practically screamed out in rage, "Why didn't Steven just kill that monster!?"

With the deepest scowl yet, Garnet replied with clenched fists, "Because Steven would never kill a human, no matter how despicable. But we need to make sure that that man never sees the light of day again."

With that, the gems agreed that he would be locked up one way or another, depending on how well our legal system did.

It had only been a couple of hours before Steven finally walked through the door, immediately making a beeline for me on the couch. I stood immediately, tense and still scared. I didn't know what had happened, what was going to happen, what I was going to say to Steven...

"Aria!" Steven exclaimed, going in to hug me. I hesitated for only a moment, before remembering, ' _It's only Steven. He's the most gentle soul on Earth._ ' Letting Steven wrap me up in his arms, I felt slight relief, knowing that his touch didn't frighten me. After what had happened... I didn't know how I was going to react from one second to the next. "Hey, it's okay."

I hadn't realized I had started crying. Garnet, who had been quietly sitting on the loft bed for half an hour, stood solemnly and stepped into her room, knowing I was in safe hands. As tears streamed down my face, I couldn't help but bury myself into Steven's shirt, letting the tremors take me. As I sobbed, I felt Steven move me back to the couch slowly, letting me get his shirt gross and not even caring. We probably stayed in that position on the couch for fifteen minutes. Once Steven thought I was a little more leveled out, he said quietly, "Aria... I know you won't want to talk about it but I _need_ to know. You told the police he was an abusive ex and you ran away from him. Why didn't you ever tell me?"

Sniffling, I only trembled slightly as I clenched my fingers around Steven's shirt. "I... I just wanted it to be in the past. I wanted him out of my life. I never... I never thought he'd find me here."

"So..." Steven said morosely. "You've actually been running from someone this whole time? You only came here to find safety?"

Laughing ironically, I wiped my eyes and mumbled, "I guess. It was either run or let him end up killing me. I've never... When I lost my memory when I was sixteen, I couldn't even comprehend the concept of family because I don't know who they were before they died. I was moved around foster homes and psychiatrists until I turned eighteen and went to college, so when I thought I found someone that I might could build a life with, I took the chance. I... I ended up missing a lot of classes, and suddenly I was kicked out of school, including the dorms. I had nowhere to go but his place. Though we were living together, I wasn't ready for the kind of relationship he wanted. That's when things started to go sour."

I could feel tears brimming in my eyes still, but it was better than the wracking sobs. "When I refused him, he would become angry. He was already an alcoholic, so the smallest things would set him off anyway. He'd punch holes in the walls, throw furniture around. It eventually progressed to where he would hit me or slap me. The night I left... He had basically tried to beat me to a pulp and take what he wanted anyways. I had to stab him in the leg with a pair of scissors to get him to stop... That night, after he was done making me suffer, he passed out from alcohol. So, I just grabbed a bag and left."

Looking over at Steven, even though the pain of reliving those memories absolutely terrified me, it was nothing compared to the look on his face. Steven looked as if he had just had the most precious thing in the world taken from him, but was trying to keep it together for appearance's sake. Tears brimming in his eyes, Steven's gem started to glow brightly, before we were suddenly engulfed in it. Opening my eyes, I noticed we were inside Steven's protective pink bubble. It was so strange to experience first hand, but I was mostly confused.

Looking at Steven with a questioning gaze, his eyes widened as he shook the tears away, dispersing the bubble as he did so. "Sorry. It's just..." He looked so sad. "I hate that that happened to you. I instinctively want to protect you. You're so amazing and smart and beautiful. You should never had to go through any of that. I... I feel like if I had gotten there sooner, I could have stopped him before he... I'm so sorry, Aria..."

I felt Steven grip me tighter, and it helped a little to ease the anxiety in my chest. What was I going to do next? How did I proceed? What was going to happen?


	6. Chapter 6

For the following two weeks after the incident with James, I stayed with the gems while repairs were being made to my apartment. Everyone seemed to try and dial back on questioning me, but there were times where they couldn't help but ask if I was okay.

My response was always vague, though. No, I was not okay.

The police informed me that James had found me after I signed the lease on my apartment. Though I was sure those records were supposed to be kept quiet, it didn't stop my name from being sent to the phone book print. I wasn't sure, but my guess was that James had a "friend" somewhere in that area. James had a lot of "friends".

Steven stayed by my side for every moment he could while I stayed with them. Sometimes there were missions that his particular gem was essential for, so one of the other gems would hang back to keep an eye on me. I wanted to steam up and get mad at them for treating me like a child who needed a babysitter, but in all honesty, it made me feel better. I was pretty sure that if I were left alone for too long, I would work myself up into a panic attack, which only Steven could handle.

The panic attacks were frequent for the first couple of days. With the exception of Steven's dad, who had his own couple of meltdowns because of the gem stuff years before, the gems were highly uncertain as to how they were supposed to handle it. Steven, however... It seemed like just his presence alone could shut off that switch – the one that made the world seem like it was closing in on me and my chest was about to implode from anxiety. As ridiculous as some of the things Steven would say were, he seemed to know exactly what to say or do to immediately bring me back to a level head.

When I asked Pearl about it one day, I could see a light blush creep to her cheeks as she explained that he was his mother's son. Rose Quartz was the most kind and caring individual they had ever met, and it hurt her to see others in pain. Because of that, Pearl speculated that Rose developed a special ability, not a magical one, that made her presence calm everything around her. She knew that if it was true, it was definitely passed on to Steven.

I supposed that kind of made sense in a weird gem thing kind of way. I guess it honestly didn't matter in the end, though. All that mattered was that I had Steven when I needed someone most. I didn't particularly enjoy using the gem hybrid as a crutch, but he sincerely didn't seem to mind. I could almost go as far as saying it seemed that he liked the idea of me needing him, as much as I despised needing help from anyone.

When Mr. Universe heard the news, he insisted that I take some time off work. I politely declined, knowing that time off would mean no pay, which I was still in desperate need of. Sure, my apartment was pretty great, but I needed a home, and I needed to finish my education. Because of the way my old college gave me the boot, I wouldn't qualify for grants or scholarships for at least one semester.

That meant that I needed enough money to pay for a semester of college out of pocket.

Even as I explained all of this to Mr. Universe, all he did was smile and laugh.

"Aria," he said with a twinkle in his eyes, setting a gentle hand on my shoulder. "You're Steven's closest friend outside of the gems. When he... When he lost... Connie... he was in a bad way for a long time. Until he met you."

Taken aback at his words, a small gasp escaped my lips. "Wh-What?"

Almost looking pained as he smiled, Mr Universe said, "The change in him was so sudden, so noticeable. The night he met you and called me to talk you up for a job, I could hear _him_. The _real_ Steven. The... The one none of us had seen since the war. And I knew it was because of you. I'm freakin' loaded, so don't worry about money, kiddo."

My throat tightened, but before I could even think of anything to say in response, he continued, "What I'm getting at is that I owe you a lot, for helping me and bringing my son back. Don't worry about missing work or pay. I owe you enough already. I'm a millionaire. What do I care?" He was rubbing the back of his neck like he was embarrassed, but I respected his honesty.

I had no idea just how torn up Steven was about losing Connie.

 _'Perhaps I should ask the crystal gems...?'_ I pondered to myself as I walked away from It's a Wash. Yes, I was still in pretty bad shape, but if Steven needed someone there for him, it was only fair that I did the same thing that he was doing for me.

Right?

Once two weeks had passed and my apartment was ready to go, I was informed that I could go back.

But I wondered how could I ever feel safe there again.  
Trying to put on a brave front, I informed Steven and the other gems that I was returning back to the apartment. I could tell that Steven wasn't happy with that decision, but it was Garnet who spoke first.

"Aria," she said, stepping forward to place a jeweled hand on my shoulder. "Perhaps it would be best if Steven were to stay with you for a while. If that man has as many friends as you claim, then it would probably be safer until we can figure something else out."

My immediate reaction was to refuse. I was already such a huge burden on the gems when I really shouldn't have been. However, Garnet did that thing where she adjusted her shades and emitted a vibe that definitely told me that she might have known something that I didn't.

Glancing nervously to Steven, I could see his expression of almost childlike excitement. His eyes were shining like stars.

"I... I don't want to burden you – "

"You're not a burden!" Steven blurted out, his expression changing immediately to panic. "You're my friend, and we all want you to be safe. Right guys?" he asked, looking to the gems.

"Exactly," Garnet said simply.

"Well of _course_!" Pearl exclaimed, almost as if she were offended.

Amethyst crammed the last of her fries in her mouth and mumbled, "Eh, if we can help, why shouldn't we?"

As much as it pained me, I knew they were right. "O-okay, I guess. It probably _is_ for the best. James – that man... I don't know how many friends he has... I don't know who to look out for." Realizing what I was saying, I could feel the blood rush to my face. "But... But none of this is your problem! I've done nothing but disrupt your lives since I met you.!"

Garnet smiled. "We've lived on this planet for a very long time. We found that it's a lot more rewarding helping others rather than pursue ridiculous selfish goals."

I became silent at her words, pondering what I should do. I had moved to Beach City for a fresh start, to get away from my old life and stand on my own two feet. I didn't need to need anyone.

But obviously I did, and I hated myself for it.

"A-Alright," I managed to say, trying to not let my tears clog my throat. "Uhm, well," I stuttered, rubbing the back of my neck nervously. "I guess I need to head on over to my place. I'm sure it's still a wreck and needs to be cleaned up..."

"Aria," Pearl said in her motherly tone as she placed a hand on my shoulder. "Don't ever feel like you can't ask us for help. We're the good guys, and you will never be a burden on us. Steven will make sure you stay safe while we figure something out."

Giving Pearl a small smile, I said, "Thank you Pearl. Actually, I want to thank all of you." Looking at the other gems standing around, I could feel myself grow even more red. I owed them at least that much. "You guys are amazing. I'm very glad we became friends."

It was Pearl's turn to blush slightly as Amethyst shrugged her shoulders and Garnet maintained her stoic look. Steven smiled. "Me too."

Steven and I managed to make it to my apartment just before the sun set. As we walked across the beach, I tried to focus in on the beautiful colors the sun emitted across the endless water. I didn't want to think of what I would have to face when I went back inside that place.

Steven entered the apartment first, not even letting me speak as he held a hand up in indication for me to wait outside. I only waited for a moment before he returned to the door.

"It's good. No one's here." I could see how sincere he wanted his smile to seem, but I could tell the deep sadness, maybe a little nervousness behind his eyes.

I let out a breath I didn't know I had been holding as I nodded and stepped inside. Everything seemed to be exactly as it had been, until I got to the bedroom.

"Wait, Aria! Maybe I should – "

But it was too late. Stepping cautiously into my bedroom, I felt my gut clench. Where Steven had destroyed the wall had been fixed, but the blood stains and discarded towel were still there. Flashes of that horrible man kept crossing my vision, making me panic. In a knee-jerk reaction, I turned quickly while restraining a sob. I didn't know Steven was going to be so close behind me though, because I promptly slammed my face into his chest.

"Oh!" I gasped, cheeks reddening as my throat tried to burn with tears. Looking up at Steven's expression, I could see his jaw was clenched and a muscle seemed to twitch. His hands were balled into fists, and he exuded an aura of pure anger. I could only observe him for a moment, though, before he seemed to remember that I was there. His expression softened almost immediately as he wrapped his arms around me, hugging me to him.

"How about we do a sleepover in the living room?" I heard him ask over my shoulder, his tone brightening. Turning me away from my room and leading me back into the living room, he set me down on the lumpy sofa as he immediately went into the kitchen. Speaking louder so I could hear him, he continued. "We'll pile up a bunch of blankets on the floor and stay up all night watching cartoons."

Finally, a small smile came to my lips as I laughed lightly. " Sounds good, except... I don't have a T.V. Or more than one blanket, now that I think of it."

"Oh!" Steven exclaimed, coming back into the living room. "I can fix this! I kinda forgot all about it. Lion!"

A pink portal opened in the center of my living room right before Lion jumped through, giving his little growl like he always did. The portal closed as Steven approached Lion. "Any gem monsters?"

Lion shook his head, his giant fluffy mane swishing around.

"Cool, then may I?" Steven asked, holding his open palm out.

Lion lowered his head, at which Steven looked back at me. "I'll be right back."

Steven held his breath and climbed through the bright portal of Lion's mane, disappearing altogether. I was worried at first about how long he might be, but I realized I needn't as he reemerged within minute. As Steven came out, I noticed he was holding – _a T.V._?

"St-Steven? Why is there a T.V. in Lion's mane?"  
"Wait, there's more!" he said excitedly, setting the T.V. on my coffee table, taking a deep breath before jumping back into Lion's mane.

I wasn't sure what to do, so I just sat awkwardly on the couch while Lion sat back on his haunches and began cleaning himself distractedly. Within just another minute, Steven jumped out of Lion's mane, his arms stacked high with bedding and clothes.

Relieving his burden, Steven turned to me and smiled. "I got you a bunch of extra stuff for your apartment. I kept it in Lion to make sure I didn't lose it."

Widening my eyes, I held a hand to my chest as I stumbled out, "Wait, this is all mine? And the T.V.?"

"Well, yeah!" Steven said, giving Lion a pat on the head before the large cat ported out. "I got this stuff for your apartment a couple weeks ago, but... Um..."

I could see he was still angry and uncomfortable thinking about it, and I couldn't blame him, but I knew he wouldn't let it get to him. He was strong, fast. He was a crystal gem. There didn't seem to be anything that could take Steven down. He saved my life with little-to-no effort. I had nothing to worry about as long as he was around, and that thought made me smile.

"I understand," I said quickly, saving him from bringing up what had happened. Changing the mood of the atmosphere, I perked up a little and said, "So, you got me a T.V.! And a bunch of clothes and bedding...?" I trailed as an afterthought. Why would he go through that kind of trouble?

"Yeah!" he said, his happy vibe returning. "Before everything happened, you said I could stay over anytime, so that got me to thinking. I can't live without T.V., and I knew you only had one blanket in this place. The clothes are from Amethyst. I'm not sure why she likes buying you clothes, but I think it has something to do with her not actually _buying_ them."

I gave a small laugh. Amethyst was the youngest gem _created_ , so I guess she was in her rebellious teenage phase. She really seemed to enjoy delinquency. "Thank you so much!" Jumping forward, I knocked the blankets and pillows from Steven's arms as I jumped into them, wrapping his large frame in a tight hug. He laughed and picked me up easily, swinging me around slightly. He set me down gently after a couple of moments, still laughing and smiling at me.

"Okay!" he exclaimed, throwing his arms into the air. "Time to get the T.V. set up and the blankets piled together! I'll get the T.V. if you wanna set up the pallet." The almost childlike eagerness I saw from him kept the smile on my lips, and I knew that he was trying to avoid me going into my bedroom at all. With the way that I knew Steven, he would probably try and get the room completely cleaned and redone while I wasn't looking just to get rid of my semi-permanent reminder.

"Right," I nodded, brushing my red hair back into a ponytail before grabbing all of the blankets and pillows from the floor. Steven pulled my coffee table to the wall next to an outlet, positioning the midsized T.V. where we could easily see in from my living room floor. One by one, I doubled the blankets up on the floor facing the T.V., knowing I had more than enough to make a better cushion than my own bed. Steven had brought a _lot_ of blankets. It seemed like that man never did anything halfway.

Once the T.V. and mattress-sized pallet of blankets and pillows were set up and ready, Steven stopped me. "Aria, go ahead and pick out something to sleep in and get changed in the bathroom. Stay there until I come get you. I got a surprise."

I gave Steven an odd look. "What kind of 'surprise'? 'Cause you know I don't really care for surprises – "

"No, trust me, you'll love it!" Steven defended. Looking into his pleading eyes, I sighed and got to my feet.

"Fine. Better make it good, Universe."

I heard him laugh at my formal use of his name as I dug through the clothes, looking for something decent to sleep in, and then walked into the bathroom, shutting the door behind me. That way I couldn't see inside the living room at all. I was changed and stood in there for almost ten minutes before Steven came knocking on the door.

"Okay, it's ready" he said as I opened the door and stepped out, getting behind me. Next thing I knew, his large hands were covering my eyes and he was using his body to guide me forward. I started to protest, but once I felt the padding of the living room carpet under my feet, we came to a stop and Steven's hands were suddenly removed.

There, in the middle of the living room, surrounding our pallet, was a fort. Red sheets were drawn up to make a box, with the front open facing the T.V. and lined with Christmas lights. The living room light was off, so there was only the glow of the lights and T.V. illuminating the room.

"Oh my God," I said, trying not to sound too impressed. I _was_ an adult, right? But there were thick tears threatening to come up at the sight, anyways. Dealing with foster homes left little room for fun things like building play forts (especially ones as beautiful as the one I was staring at) or staying up all night watching cartoons while eating junk food.

"I thought it'd be nice to have a completely relaxed night. So, lay down and get comfy." His smile was so bright, it almost pained me at how caring he was.

Steven strayed into the kitchen to make popcorn, which was my main stock of food that was still edible after being absent for two weeks. Once it was ready, Steven brought two drinking glasses and the popcorn to the living room.

Looking at the empty glasses, I gave Steven a questioning look. I opened my mouth to let him know that they were supposed to hold liquid for us to drink, but he smiled and held up a finger in motion for me to wait. Reaching into his bag that was still sitting on the couch, he suddenly produced a bottle.

A wine bottle.

"I figured a couple glasses could help you ease back into being here," he said hesitantly, acting as if he wasn't sure how I would react.

I was at a loss for words for the moment, to be honest. I opened my mouth to say something, but it just hung open as I contemplated it. I was never a big fan of alcohol, but I did always find wine pleasant enough. Just a single glass of it would always make me feel so relaxed, something I needed back when I was with that... man. During my time that I spent with James, there were several too many times that he would force me to drink with him, saying it would help "loosen me up". Needless to say, after spending so many years with him, I had been forced to try just about every kind of alcohol there was, and wine was definitely the only thing I cared for.

Even though Steven didn't know it, it made me feel happy and warm knowing that he just wanted me to feel better.

"I... I didn't..." I stumbled over my words, unsure how I should express gratitude. Finally cracking a smile, I said in a jokingly scathing tone, "Steven Quartz Universe, do the gems know you're doing this? I'm sure they wouldn't want their precious Steven drinking _alcohol_."

Steven laughed. "I've never drank much before, but the gems have already told me that it's my choice whether I want to, as long as I'm legal human drinking age. They don't understand its appeal, but that's because alcohol doesn't affect them. I guess the half of me that's human lets me enjoy it."

Crawling in next to me on the pallet, Steven produced a Swiss army knife and used the corkscrew to open the bottle of Moscato, pouring a generous amount into both glasses. They definitely weren't fancy wine glasses – they were actually coffee mugs – but I didn't care either way.

One step at a time.

"Okay," Steven said, lying on his stomach next to me, facing the T.V. Reaching down to our feet, he pulled a large down blanket on top of us and snapped his finger.

Suddenly, the T.V. channel changed to the cartoon channel, which was playing some show about young and clumsy superheroes.

Looking at Steven with a stunned expression, I said, "Since when can you control a _T.V._?"

Steven looked over at me and gave me a sly grin. "A gem's gotta keep _some_ secrets."

I took a long hard look at Steven trying to determine how serious he was. After an awkward moment of silence, Steven finally bust out laughing. "Okay, okay. I don't know how, but I can adjust signals in the air. It's not really good for anything except disrupting electronics when I'm stressed or changing the channel. The gems think there might be more to it, but we don't know yet."

"That's crazy," I said, taking a sip from my mug. Moscato was really the only type of wine I really liked, but I didn't remember telling Steven that.

A few hours and two bottles of Moscato later, Steven and I were rolling around in our fort giggling uncontrollably as we watched an absurd cartoon about a meatball, a milkshake and a carton of magical fries doing what seemed to be a lot and nothing at the same time. It had been a long time since the last time I had drank, so four glasses was more than enough for my frame size to get me completely hammered. Steven killed the rest of what I couldn't drink, which he needed anyways because he had a naturally strong resistance to alcohol.

We had tried playing card games, guessing games, truth or dare, and just about any childhood game he could think of. I was having an amazing time, even though I was pretty drunk. As the credits came on for the show, I finally managed to stifle my giggling, looking at Steven. Watching his almost graceful stature laugh in pure joy as the lights created a stunning background for his smile. Once he realized I was staring at him and smiling, he smile slowly faded, turning into a look of confusion.

"What?" he asked with slight panic in his tone.

"It's just..." I was trying to bring my words together, my drunken haze trying to garble my words. "You're... amazing, Steven."

I could see the slight blush creep to his cheeks, but he waved a hand as if brushing off my comment. "Not really. I just try to stay positive."

Rolling over to put my hand on his arm, my equilibrium faltered and I accidentally landed halfway on top of Steven. "Oof!"

Steven laughed, looking down at me. "I think you've had enough wine."

Smiling, I said, "I think you're right."

Steven moved me over and positioned me me next to him, both of us laying on our sides facing each other.

"You're... You saved me... That day..." I said drunkenly, not even aware that I was really saying it. "You saved me twice... Actually..." I didn't know I was absently staring into Steven's dark eyes. "How can someone as incredible as you... exist?"

The slight blush on Steven's cheeks deepened as he looked around nervously. "I... All I did was heal you... I didn't... I didn't make it in time to stop that man..."

"You did more than just heal me," I said with a slight slur, reaching for my wine mug. "You were there for me... I don't think I've ever had that before. Had _this_ before." Grabbing my mug, I decided to just drain the half a glass that was left in one go. Steven looked like he wanted to protest, but he didn't as he remained silent. Continuing, I said, "I've never had a real friend – real _friends_ – before. What happened with him... It was bound to happen... I should have known he'd find me... But for once, I had you, and your dad, and the gems... I never had anyone to turn to. But you gave me that."

"Aria..." Steven said, almost sounding sad. My vision was blurry from the alcohol, but it only made the lights behind him twinkle brighter, and they reflected so deeply from his eyes.

I'm not sure when or how our lips met, but it was all I could remember before the rest of the night melted away into blackness.


	7. Chapter 7

**Chapter 7**

The next morning – _'Ouch, afternoon.'_ I thought to myself as I looked at my watch foggily – I found myself sprawled out across the pallet. Blearily aware that I was much more comfortable than I usually was when I woke up, it took every ounce of willpower to bring my hands to my eyes to rub them harshly. Not even bothering to sit up, I did a full body stretch of all my muscles, sprawling even more widespread than before. My head throbbed rather painfully, reminding me that I didn't drink a glass of water before passing out. Beside Steven.

 _'Steven!'_ I thought frantically in an instant. Looking over fast enough to almost give myself whiplash, I felt my anxiety begin to dissipate slowly. He was also passed out from all of the alcohol.

Everything from the night before was muddled after my second glass of wine, but I was definitely sure that we had kissed. Blood rushing to my cheeks furiously, I sat up.

A sigh of relief escaped my lips as I took inventory of my clothes. They all seemed to be intact and where they were the night before, so I was able to safely assume that he and I had done nothing more than kiss. Looking down at Steven, I noted that his shirt was off, but after living with him for so long, I knew it was because it was just uncomfortable to sleep in shirts. I couldn't help but to admire the handsome man that was snoozing peacefully beside me, lying on his back with his faced relaxed as he snored softly. His gem shined brightly in contrast to his toned abdomen, which was a far cry from the pictures I had seen of Steven when he was younger and kinda chubby. How in the world could such a strange and wonderful man come into my life and still want to be a part of it?

I didn't have time to ponder an answer as I saw Steven's face flinch slightly. I jerked my hand back, having not even realized that I was about to reach out to brush away a wild lock of stray hair from his face. Looking around quickly, almost in a panic, I saw nothing to help me seem like I was being casual and not ogling the man. Resorting to plan B, I began using my fingers to comb through my hair and make it look more presentable as I stared blankly at the cartoons still running on the T.V. I was sure my hair looked like a matted tuft of red dog hair.

Not looking at Steven, I listened as he slowly woke up, turning over a couple of times and taking deep breaths. Four turns and eight yawns later, I finally heard him speak.

"Aria? How long have you been awake?" His morning voice was rough, and after a night of drinking, it was even more so. I didn't mind at all.

Looking over, I saw that Steven was finally sitting up, leaning in very close to me. "Oh!" I exclaimed softly, jumping slightly at his proximity. Nervously continuing to run my fingers through my hair, I said in as even tone as possible, "Not long."

Steven seemed to be staring intently at me, as if he were trying to remember something about me.

"What?" I asked nervously, stopping my motions.

Steven smiled sleepily at me. "You know, you're really beautiful. Especially in the morning."

Flushing a bit, I giggled nervously as I indicated to the clock on the wall. "It's not exactly morning, though, Steven."

Yawning groggily as he reached for his discarded shirt, he said, "Well, when you first wake up, I mean." Pulling his shirt over his head and adjusting it, he continued, "You look really relaxed. It's almost like seeing a completely different side of you."

"Well," I said, continuing my assault on my hair to hide my expression. "I've never had a reason to relax before. It's been a very long time since I can even recall being happy. Until now, that is, and even so, I've still got that dark spot inside my heart where constant fear resides. And I don't think it'll ever go away."

I could feel that Steven had adjusted himself so he was sitting closer to me. "What do you mean?"

Sighing softly, I began explaining as I continued my ministrations on my hair. "Foster homes aren't always the best of places. Most of the homes consisted of several foster kids with an adult that just wanted a large paycheck from the government. Out of dozens of homes, there were only a couple of foster homes that seemed to genuinely care. I thought I was the luckiest person in the world when I was offered a scholarship to a university on the other side of the country. I was finally an adult and could start learning to be independent. I could finally not be the amnesiac oddity. I could finally choose what happened with my life... And then I met _him_. He... he promised me the world, and took advantage of my need to make a connection with someone, anyone. He would tell me every day that he was the only person who would ever care about me. And I believed him..."

"But that night... The night I ran away... It was my breaking point. I knew that if I didn't get out, he would kill me eventually if I didn't let him have what he wanted. I'm not really religious as far as I can guess, so the 'sex-before-marriage' thing wasn't the problem for me. I just knew that... That doing _that_ is meant to be something deep, something spiritual, something _blossomed_ from true love... And I knew it wouldn't be like that with him. I hate when I'm right..."

Burrowing my face into my knees, I blinked away the tears that threatened to fall before Steven could see.

"Aria," Steven said softly, placing a hand on my shoulder, causing my to look up at him with red eyes. His expression held deep sadness behind his concerned orbs. "You will never have to feel that way again. No one is ever going to hurt you again, or control your life, or take away your choices. I won't let it happen ever again, as long as I exist. And we will _never_ expect anything but friendship from you. You're an incredible and special person, Aria, and it's sad that no one ever seemed to figure that out. But I have, and the Gems. As long as you'll let us be in your life, we'll always be there for you."

I could feel my eyes becoming wet once more, so I shook them away as I took a slow, deep breath.

Steven continued, "And no matter how many times you say you're okay, I know you're not. You were... _attacked_ in a really bad way, and I should have gotten there sooner. You always try to say that it's not my fault, but I'm supposed to be strong, and fast, and I know I could have stopped him if I would have just gotten there sooner. I could have saved you all that pain. All _this_ pain. No one should ever have to go through what you've been through, and it makes me want to protect you even more."

With that, I watched as Steven reached out and grabbed me by the shoulders, pulling me to him in an almost crushing hug. "I just wish my healing powers could take the rest of your pain away. I was crushed when I discovered you lost your memories and my healing powers didn't fix that."

I felt myself go slightly rigid. Mumbling into Steven's chest through his embrace, I asked nervously, "Is that... Is that why you kissed me last night? Hoping your power would heal more than just my body?"

I felt Steven pull me even closer, resting his chin on my head. After a moment of silence, he finally said, "No. It was because I wanted to."  
Pulling back, I gave Steven a questioning look. Thoughts raced through my mind as I tried to figure out what I should say to that, but only stupid questions wanted to come out. "Why would you want to have anything to do with a girl like me?"

Steven only smiled. "I already told you. You're a very special person to me."

It took nearly a week of panic attacks and night terrors for me to finally calm myself and settle down comfortably in my apartment like before. After the second week of Steven staying with me, the Gems finally had him come home for a mission. He was more than reluctant to leave my side, but I insisted that he go. As much as I _really_ enjoyed Steven's company, I was keeping him from protecting the world, too.

Amethyst volunteered to stay behind with me, since none of the Gems trusted leaving me alone until they could guarantee I was completely safe without them. At least with Amethyst, it didn't feel so much like babysitting as it did just two chicks (one of them being abnormally gross) just hanging out, eating junk food and watching T.V. We watched all kinds of ridiculous shows, but we laughed despite the absurdness. Amethyst was surprisingly cool to hang out with. Because she was the youngest _actual_ Gem, she still knew how to have fun and pretty well did whatever she wanted.

Though Garnet could always give us rough estimates of how long the gang would be gone on the missions, she was never certain. However, she never predicted more than three days.

We were on day five.

My worry started immediately after the third day had passed, and it didn't seem to sit well with Amethyst either, though she would never say it aloud. However, we gave them the benefit of the doubt. The future was never certain, right?

After a solid week is when we both expressed our true concern. With no word from any of them, and the feeling in my gut, I knew something was wrong.

"Steven would come for me! Why shouldn't I go after him!?"

Amethyst and I had been arguing since dawn on the seventh day. She announced to me that she was going to go find them, but she did _not_ like my declaration of tagging along.

"If you get hurt because of me, Steven and Greg would KILL me!" Amethyst explained, gripping her long white hair in frustration. She was trying and failing miserably to get to the door as I clung to her. "The mission they went on was supposed to be crazy dangerous and you humans are _way_ too fragile. I'm only 4,500 years old! I don't want to die because I was the idiot that brought along a _human_. No offense."

"We're not _that_ fragile!" I huffed, blocking the door way to keep her from going without me. "I can help! I'll do whatever you say! But please let me go! I have to help Steven!"

"Ugh!" Amethyst growled, clenching her teeth together. "You know what? Fine. If you wanna come along and put yourself in mortal peril, that's your decision. But if you get hurt or die, your last words better be 'I made Amethyst let me come.' I'm not gonna be responsible for Steven's _human_ girlfriend getting killed after I told her to not be so stupid."

She was being very crass, but I didn't care. "Okay! Just, give me a second to change into... _not_ pajamas."

Rolling her eyes, Amethyst said, "Fine. Better dress light. It's really hot where they went."

Five minutes later, Amethyst and I emerged from my apartment and began our trek to the temple. I decided to go with some sensible tennis shoes, complete with a green tank top and black shorts. The elements didn't bother the Gems, so Amethyst wore the same thing she always did. It took nearly fifteen minutes to reach the temple, where I mounted the warp pad with Amethyst. Though I was still nervous about warping, my determination to find Steven overrode my fear.

"Alright," Amethyst said, looking at me. "So, we're going to a desert. It's been over twenty years since I've been there so I don't know what it's like. Just stay behind me, and if I say run, I mean it. Run away as fast as you can."

Her words made me slightly more nervous, but I didn't show it as I nodded resolutely.

The next second the two of us were engulfed in the white light of warping. Neither of us spoke, both on guard for what we might see when we manifested.

I felt gravity taking hold, so I braced myself for the landing. I was nowhere near experienced with warp pad landings, so it took nothing for my feet to come out from under me and land me flat on my ass. "Oof!"

Amethyst didn't seem to pay attention as she surveyed our surroundings. Or lack, thereof.

For as far as the eye could see, there was nothing but desert sand. There was no breeze to speak of, and not even the courtesy of weeds. Just... Desert.

"Dammit," Amethyst cursed, looking around. "Finding them is going to take forever!"

"Yeah," I said defeatedly, looking at the endless flat land of sand. "I wish Lion was here. He could find Steven no problem."

Just as I said that, the ground quaked slightly before a bright pink portal opened in front of us, allowing Lion to jump through nonchalantly.

"Lion!" Amethyst and I both exclaimed, running forward to pet the animal's soft fur.

"Lion, can you take us to the others?" Amethyst asked excitedly.

Lion made a roaring sound, which we couldn't really interpret but I got a bad feeling about, but he leaned down and allowed Amethyst and me to mount him. He roared, opening another portal and jumping through with no warning.

When we reappeared on the other side, I immediately knew why the Gems hadn't returned. The three of us were standing in a large cavern, with the ceiling a couple hundred feet high. The walls were lit with torches that burned red, which was really weird and creepy looking. And to our right, there were eight prison cells in a row, each one equipped with very thick bars and a yellow light window surrounding the bars.

Pearl, Steven, and two other people I didn't know were each in their own individual cells, none of them looking like they were in great condition.

"Steven! Pearl!" I exclaimed, running toward the oddly built cells.

"Sapphire! Ruby!" Amethyst followed suit, approaching the cells. I went to Steven's first, gently tapping at the yellow light. It didn't hurt or do anything weird, so I wrapped my hands around the bars of the cell.

"Steven!"

He was laying on his side, hunched in on himself as his head perked up.

"Aria?" Turning over slowly, I could see why he was laying the way he was. His face was bruised and battered, and there were blood stains, rips and tears, all over his body. With a pained expression, he pulled himself up to face me. "Aria, what the hell are you doing here?" There was blood dripping from his busted lip.

"Me and Amethyst came looking for you guys. What the hell is going on here? Why are you locked up? _How_ are you locked up?" I was feeling frantic. I knew that they were in the cells for a reason, and I didn't want to encounter whoever put them there.

"The Gem Destabilizing field doesn't work for me, but the bars are too thick and heavy to break through, even with my shield. We came looking for a some gem activity we found going on here but it was a trap. You have to get out of here, Aria, before Blood Stone comes back – "

"Steven!" Amethyst interjected. "What do we do? What do we need to do? The others are all unconscious!"

"Amethyst!" Steven said, almost with a scathing tone. "How could you bring Aria here? You should have just brought Peridot! It's not safe here!"

Immediately letting her temper get the better of her, Amethyst argued, "It's not like I know where Peri is right now! And Aria made me let her come, and it was Lion who responded to her and brought us here! This is a really stubborn chick you've picked out, homeboy!"

"Since _when_ do humans come to rescue _Gems_?" A sinister voice resounded from behind us.

It was not good, at all.


	8. Chapter 8

**Chapter 8**

I felt terror grip my chest at the very unwelcoming female voice. Before I could even think anything about it, Amethyst grabbed me by the shoulders and spun me around, positioning me directly behind her. Over Amethyst's shoulder, I could see... Another Gem? Huh?

The newcomer stood about seven feet tall. Her red skin contrasted deeply to the black leather bodice she wore, along with matching leather pants and dominatrix boots. Her long blue hair fell down to her waist, with straight cut bangs to match. I couldn't see her gem.

Amethyst pulled her whip out quickly, setting a defensive stance. "Who the hell are you and what the hell is going on?" Amethyst growled. "Let them go right now – !"

The Gem smiled and laughed softly. With a bit of a Victorian accent, she said delightedly, "Wow, you exposed gems really _are_ stupid. Since when has anyone ever said, 'Oh, okay, I'll let them go because you so politely screamed it at me.' Be serious. I've captured them for a reason. I'm not going to just _let them go_. Especially when I know you two are friends of the hybrid's."

With that, the Gem motioned to Steven in his cell, where he stood growling behind the bars.

"Bloodstone, if you would just listen to me – !"

"Silence, Hybrid!" the apparent Bloodstone snapped, looking at him sharply as her voice resounded through the dungeon. Looking back at Amethyst and me, she continued. "When I discovered this intriguing human/Gem hybrid, I was very interested, of course. However, his examination will have to wait until my assignment is complete. Which is why I'm glad _you're_ here."

Looking around and behind me, I was certain that she had to be talking to someone else. When it was clear she was looking at me, I gasped out, "What? Me?! Why the hell do you need me?! I'm just a human!"

"Precisely!" Bloodstone exclaimed, throwing her arms into the air and turning to face the solid dungeon wall. On her back, beneath her long blue hair, I could finally see her gem. It was a large, red, diamond shaped stone embedded in her lower back, right between where her bodice ended and her leather pants began. "Do you Homeworld traitors really think that we were only here to create a _cluster_ after our attempt at colonization failed?"

"Hey!" Amethyst snarled, barely restraining herself. "I'm not a traitor! I was born here! And _they're_ not traitors either! All we do is protect this world!"

Bloodstone turned back to face us, her expression hardly readable. "Hmm... If that's how you want to put it, whatever. It doesn't matter. Either way, when you _Crystal Gems_ stopped the cluster and destroyed Yellow Diamond, I was put under back-up orders by White Diamond to conduct a very _different_ kind of experiment here. _That's_ why I need the human."

"No! Aria!" I heard Steven yell from his cell.

"Run!" Amethyst ordered, pushing me back and in the opposite direction. "I'll take care of her!"

My feet ran out of instinct, but I couldn't stop myself from looking behind me to see what was happening. Amethyst was the one to make the first move, slinging her whip around at Bloodstone. We were both surprised when the strange Gem – Bloodstone – manifested two solid red scythes, which sliced through Amethyst's oncoming whip with ease. I stopped in my tracks in shock, not believing that she so easily bested Amethyst's move. Reluctant to leave Amethyst, I turned to start running back for her before she whipped her head at me in a snarl.

"Aria, no!"

But it was already too late. Bloodstone took the opportunity and leaped forward, avoiding the tattered remains of Amethyst's whip as she bore down on Amethyst, slamming the butt of her blades on top of the white-haired Gem.

And just like that, Amethyst disappeared in a cloud of smoke. Her gem dropping to the ground unceremoniously.

"No!" I screamed out, taking off at a sprint to where Amethyst's gem lay. "Amethyst!"

Right as I reached her gem, I slid down onto my knees, attempting to pick it up. There seemed to be no hesitation in the universe, though, as I promptly felt a massive blow straight to my chest. Every bit of air was forced from my lungs, whooshing out as it felt like every rib had been broken as I froze up from the pain radiating throughout my entire being.

It seemed like a blessing when the darkness of unconsciousness took me.

xxxxx

Pain. Extreme, unending pain. Excruciating agony. I couldn't breathe. I couldn't see. I could only think. There was nothing more to me than the screams that never escaped my lips, the cries that couldn't be heard. Every inch of whatever I was felt on fire, it was so intense that I couldn't even feel my body at all, only extreme torment and suffering. My mind couldn't comprehend the pain ever beginning, nor did it have to capacity for it to beg to end. There was nothing except eternal pain and the extremely vivid memories that washed over me in droves.

...

 _'Hi, my name is Steven!' the much younger looking Steven Universe cried loudly as he knocked me down. Within that second, a tremendous pink bubble appeared around the two of us, stopping us from being crushed by the piece of cliff I hadn't known was falling._

 _..._

 _'Overhead Deathstrike!' Steven and I yelled out, the two of us using his mother's large, pink sword to send back the fireball the floating robot had shot at us, destroying the machine for good._

 _..._

 _'Ow!' I said suddenly, stopping myself suddenly from kissing a younger Steven. 'Ugh.'_

 _'What's wrong?' Steven asked, the concern apparent in his voice._

 _'I think...' I tried, sighing at my confusion. 'There's just... There's something wrong with my glasses.' Taking my glasses off, I looked at the fuzzy form of Steven as my vision magically focused everything... Without my glasses. In my surprise, I cried out, 'My... My eyes! I-I can see!'_

 _'What?' Steven asked incredulously, leaning closer to me._

 _'I can see without my glasses!' I stressed, not letting go of the Durian juice box in my hand._

 _'Did I... Heal your eyes?' Steven asked disbelievingly. 'But... How?!'_

 _The two of us both suddenly noticed the magical shimmer surrounding the straw of the juice box, at which I panicked and threw to the ground._

 _Gasping, Steven said excitedly, 'I don't have healing tears!' With that, he stood to his feet and thrust his arms into the air in victory, 'I have healing spit!'_

 _Sitting back in exasperation, I looked down at my glasses in horror. 'What am I going to tell my parents? What am I going to tell my_ optometrist?! _'_

 _Still excitedly, Steven said, "I don't even know!' Suddenly wrapped in a bear hug, I heard Steven exclaim, 'Oh, thank you Connie! Lion, let's go tell the Gems! They're never gonna believe this!'_

 _..._

 _'Whaat? Why not?' Steven's voice came from over the phone as I stood in my parents' kitchen._

 _'Steven, I told you I can't hang out today. I have tennis practice. And then Mom wants to go out for a family dinner. But she said I could hang out all day tomorrow! And I can come over all the time now that it's summer vacation.'_

 _Steven's confused voice answered back, 'What's summer vacation?'_

 _'Ya know, when school gets out for the summer?'_

 _'I've never been to this... how do you say..._ school _? How does it work?'_

 _..._

 _A deadly sonic-speed ball of water bolted dead for Steven and me from his water-double, but Steven suddenly manifested his large pink shield and stopped it as he yelled, 'I said I don't wanna fight!'_

 _..._

 _'Things are going pretty good so far, huh?' Steven asked as he followed me inside the restaurant._

 _'Steven, are you kidding me?! What is this..._ thing _... you've brought to dinner?!' I freaked out, referring to the giant outside known as Alexandrite._

 _'It... It's my family. It's all of the Gems, fused together into a six armed, giant woman...' he responded a little sheepishly._

 _'Why couldn't you just bring one of the Gems?'_

 _'Cause that would be a lie!'_

 _..._

 _I got up from the sand and joined Steven in embarrassment, his music playing in the background mixing perfectly with the waves. We danced, just doing it however we liked. We were basically just running around and laughing, but the two of us collided. I somehow managed to catch Steven before he fell, and when we began laughing, a bright pink light engulfed the two of us, fusing us. Into Stevonnie._

 _..._

 _We had spent all night wishing we could watch the snow together, and suddenly our wish came true. As Steven laid on the couch facing the window, I crept quietly down the stairs and approached him. He noticed me, but neither of us said a word as I sat on the floor next to him and just looked out the window, admiring the snow with my best friend._

 _..._

 _'_ _Can I look yet?' Steven asked as the two of us sat on the beach in front of the temple._

 _'Okay.'_ _  
My ears were instantly assaulted as Steven opened his eyes to see what I held in front of him. '_ _Books! Whoa! Cool cover.'_ _  
I immediately started gushing, '_ _It's my favorite series. It's about this girl named Lisa, and she's a witch. I mean, she doesn't know she's a witch at first. And she has a familiar, which is sort of like this spirit companion that everyone in the world has, and hers is a talking falcon named Archimicarus._ _  
_ _Anyways, she goes on this quest to find her father after he's kidnapped by a mysterious one-eyed man...'_ _  
'_ _Whoa! Mystery!'_

 _'Here, let me get you started,' I offered opening the book to start reading aloud. 'Chapter one: The Morning Thief. Lisa awoke with a start, the echoes of her dreams still dancing in her mind. The low rumble of thunder murmured through the quiet house – '_

 _Just then, I was sure I felt the ground quake, but Steven just looked around amazed. 'Whoa! This is a really good book.'_ _  
Ignoring the ground-shake, I continued, '_ _Uh okay. The house was deathly still. The only sound Lisa could hear was her own heartbeat pounding in her ears. The hairs on her neck tingled when suddenly – '_

 _That time I was cut off due to something massive falling from the sky and slamming into the ocean._

 _'What the – '_

 _'What was that?' Amethyst asked quickly as she and the other two gems ran outside to join us._

 _'It's one of the marble robots!' Steven said disbelievingly._

 _'What?!'_

 _'Huh?!' the two of us cried out as the robonoid began running at us quickly. Before it could reach us, however, Garnet had managed to jump in front of us, manifesting her gauntlets to stop the creature in its tracks._

 _'Amethyst! Pearl!'_

 _From the sky, I watched as the two addressed Gems suddenly attacked from above at full force. 'Hyah!'_

 _The creature exploded, but not before Steven had time to form his protective pink bubble around us. Once it was clear, Steven dispersed the bubble and looked at me sitting on the ground with stars in my eyes._

 _'You okay?'_

 _'I love hanging out at your place.'_

 _..._

 _Watching as my double – who was wearing a wedding gown – held Steven down, I stopped._

 _'What?'_

 _'I -_ _I thought it was sweet that Lisa and Archimicarus got together in the end! They were always so thoughtful towards each other, and I was so happy when they found the spell to make him human, and I loved every page about the cake, I wanted to draw a picture of it! I'm-I'm sorry I pretended not to like it, I just didn't want you to think less of me.'_

 _My double sighed in relief, "Ah, that's better," before poofing away into a cloud._

 _Approaching Steven, he asked meekly, "Do – do you think I'm a bad person for liking the ending?'_

 _'Of course not! I... Steven, it's just a book!'_

 _'But you really care about it!'_

 _'I care about you more.'_

 _..._

xxxxx

"It's time to wake up, Onyx..."

There was a voice breaking through, and it was the first time I could focus on anything. However, it meant that I was either overcoming the pain at last, or that it was fading. I felt like my mind was waking up from a coma for the first time in hundreds of years. Within moments of the voice reaching my subconscious, I could feel myself steadily being pulled towards the surface. Pain still radiated from my chest, spreading to all of my extremities, but it was dying down slowly, and I could suddenly think again.  
"Yes, Onyx. Wakey wakey..."

Though the fire still seared through me, it was odd that I could feel my body once more. It felt lighter, but stronger. The pain source of my torment came from the spot in the center of my torso, right below my breasts. _How did I get here...?_

"Open your eyes to a new world, Onyx!"

That voice. Bloodstone. _Oh!_

Eyes snapping open, the only thing I could register was darkness. If I weren't already in a constant panic over my agony, I would have almost began to panic until my eyes adjusted. I was finally beginning to see what seemed like a dimly lit... Dungeon?

"Yes! Very good, Onyx!"

I blinked several times, tears constantly streaming from my eyes as I tried to adjust my sight. Turning my head to the side, I could see a tall woman with red skin and blue hair. _'Bloodstone!'_

She looked like all of her dreams had come true, the smile on her face close to maniacal.

My throat was scratchy and dry, but my voice came out clear as a bell through my clenched teeth, "What... What did you do? It hurts... It hurts so bad..."

"Hmm..." she hummed, looking almost troubled. "I was afraid of that. We'll just have to check your levels. The pain should be going away, at the very least." Turning her back to me, I saw her stone embedded in her back.

 _' – Steven – Amethyst – the Gems!'_ I thought frantically, finally regaining some feeling other than pain in my toes. Immediately heaving my body forward, I tried to sit up despite my pain. It was a mistake. Something restraining my neck and arms jerked me back down onto what I assumed was a stone table. I cried out, the jarring causing more nerves to flare.

"What's going on?" I ground out, grappling at the collar around my neck. Looking at the woman, I felt rage boil beneath the surface of my torment. "Let me go, Bloodstone! Stop this! It hurts!"

Bloodstone turned to look at me once more. Pulling up a holoscreen in front of her, she observed me for only a moment before exclaiming, "Yes! The pain receptors are retreating! The experiment was a success!" Bouncing around with exuberance, Bloodstone jumped atop my table and straddled my form to look at me from above. She seemed to be scrutinizing every single one of my tiniest of features, up and down in joyous approval. "Excellent! Once I adjust your memory, you will be the first ever human to fully be transformed into a Gem! Veriscite will be very pleased indeed!"

Reacting on some weird instinct, I couldn't help but snarl right as I jerked my head forward, cracking it against Bloodstone's face.

She toppled from the table with a groaned, "Ow..." It didn't take but a moment before she was back on her feet, however, and her hand came down swiftly and harshly against my face. The pain flared up once more, causing my eyes to sting with tears, but I tried to hold myself together.

"There's no way you're doing _anything_ to my memories!" I screamed out, pulling harshly against my restraints.

With a scowl, Bloodstone said, "Onyx, you're only making this worse on yourself!"

Getting as close to her face as I could, I screamed, "And stop calling me Onyx! My name is Connie, you psycho!" As I said my real name for the first time since before I'd lost my memory, it seemed to echo loudly through the dungeon and my brain.

Laughing ironically, Bloodstone said, "Oh, you're Onyx alright, but you'll know that as soon as your mind is permanently altered. Forever." She stood there and smirked at my frightened expression before she turned her back on me once more. I tried to see what she was doing on her workspace, but it was a futile attempt at my angle. Her workspace was cluttered with several gadgets and trinkets.

I spent close to five minutes trying to convince her to tell me what was going on, but the most answer she would give me was a smirk over the shoulder as she continued whatever it was she was doing.

 _'Time for a change of tactic.'_

"What's going to happen to all the Gems?" I asked, still struggling against my chains.

"Don't fret over them, Onyx," Bloodstone replied sweetly, not even looking back at me. "Once they see your new form and I explain everything, I'm certain we can get on good terms with one another."

"Don't bet on it – Wait... New form? _My_ new form? What new form?"

Bloodstone paused whatever she was doing and slowly turned to face me. Her expression was one of complete elation. With a short burst of laughter, she said in a teasing voice, "Why, yes. Your new physical form. Your gem developed you that way.

 _'My gem?'_

"What?" I asked incredulously. "What are you talking about?"

Putting her hands on her hips, Bloodstone smiled even wider. With a quake of the ground beneath me, I suddenly felt the table I was restrained to begin to tilt forward. I panicked and tried to grapple at something, but my hands and feet were still bound tightly. The table kept tilting until it was finally fully vertical, hanging me by my chains. The movement was excruciating so I closed my eyes against the pain.

"No, Onyx. Open your eyes."

Trying to ignore the ache, I slowly opened my eyes, only to be met with a mirror. Except I didn't know the person in the mirror.

She was definitely beautiful. Standing the same height as I did, her full, black hair cascaded in thick waves down to her knees. The darkness of her hair contrasted greatly with her pale white skin. She wore a red tube top that was very form fitting, and in the groove right below her breasts in the center was a black gem that was the shape of a triangle, embedded directly in her ribs. She wore a black, pleated skirt that went to mid-thigh, but her legs were bare the rest of the way down, including her feet.

And then I looked at her face.

When I stared into the pitch black eyes of the woman, she looked terrified.

The fire still in my chest ached even more, so I automatically tried to move my hand to it but my chains only rattled. When I saw the woman in the mirror do the exact same, I knew that what I had been denying was true.

The woman in the mirror _was_ me.

"What? What did you do to me?" I stammered out, looking at myself in disbelief. "How is this possible? I'm a human!"

"Your Steven hybrid is human as well, but he still possesses a gem," Bloodstone stated simply, lowering my stone table back to a horizontal position once more. "You ARE a bit different, however."  
"What do you mean? What the hell is all of this for?!" I could feel true panic begin to set in, canceling out most of the pain I was experiencing. Suddenly, Bloodstone rounded to face me, holding what looked to be a helmet with several electrodes running from it. "No! Stay away from me!" I screamed.

I suppose Bloodstone didn't expect as much hostility as I was showing, because once she was within a couple feet of me, I reared at her again, screaming at her to stop. I felt a warmth radiate from my chest, and suddenly Bloodstone was blown backwards several feet.

"That's enough, Onyx!" she screeched out, standing and grabbing the helmet from the floor before approaching me once more. Waving her hand briefly, all of my restraints tightened, making sure I was firmly in place, my back hugging the table. "For this to work, you need gem tech implanted!"

"Or that thing could brainwash me!" I yelled, just then taking note of how much different my voice sounded. Almost musical.

"Bloodstone!" a voice bellowed throughout the dungeon. Turning my head quickly, I could see Pearl standing there in an offensive stance with her spear. Steven stood beside her, still looking a little worse for wear but wielding a large pink sword. Amethyst, Garnet and some smaller green Gem that looked familiar was flanking the two of them, and Lion stood in the back, looking every bit like the large angry cat he should be.

It was Pearl who had spoken. With all the Gems behind her, armed and clearly ready for a fight, she said with finality, "Let Aria go and come with us peacefully or we will be forced to take you down!"

"Steven!" I cried out.

"Ughhh," Bloodstone groaned out in disgust. "How the hell did you nuisances escape your cages?"

"That's not exactly your problem right now, is it?" Garnet said with a growl, her gauntlets almost shining in the darkness of the dungeon.

"Yeah, so tell us where she is and submit or we will take you _down_!" Amethyst yelled, gripping her whip tighter.

"Guys..." Steven said, his eyes focused on my form bound to the table. "I... I think _that's_ Aria..." he indicated to me.

Dropping the helmet in her hands, Bloodstone manifested her curved blades and held them defensively. "You can't have your precious human back. It's already too late!"

"Gems, go!" Garnet yelled in a battle cry. Suddenly, all of them jumped to the air and out of my sight. I could hear a flurry of movement, but I was strapped so tightly to the table that I couldn't move my head to see what was going on. The battle was on, and I was helpless.

The sounds of bangs, roars, and screaming filled the air, but I could do nothing but lay there and try to hear everything. The pain was beginning to recede from my fingertips as panic gripped me like a vice. Suddenly, I felt a hand on my arm.

"Don't touch me you freak – !"

I paused mid-sentence as I managed to turn my head just enough to see who it was. "Quiet, Aria," a nasally voice said as I saw the small green Gem begin using a small laser to cut through my chains. "I'm here to help. I'm just a peridot so I'm not meant for fighting at all. I'm just here to get you out."

It only took moments before I was suddenly free, but before I could even think of running to the fray, I felt myself freeze in place. I couldn't move.

"Sorry," I heard the Peridot say as she turned me to face her. She held in her hand some kind of device, which had engulfed me in a greenish light. "I'm under strict orders to get you out of here and let the other Gems deal with this. The lion will be our escape. Lion!"

Jumping from in the middle of the battle, the large pink lion landed in front of me and the apparent peridot, growling viciously. Peridot jumped onto Lion's plush pink back, using her device to settle me on him as well. As soon as Lion roared and opened a portal, Peridot released me from the device, allowing me to move once more.

"Come on, Lion. Let's get her out of here!"

"No! I have to help Steven!" I yelled out. Lion was already in the process of jumping through the portal, but I managed to slide off his back just before he and Peridot disappeared, the portal closing behind them. I fell to the floor harshly, groaning at the spikes of pain coursing through me as I tried to right myself.

I had yet to try actual walking with my new form, but it took a wobbly minute for me to get it right. Once I was sure I had it, I took off at a sprint towards the action.

But not before Peridot and Lion portaled back in, both looking angry as they blocked my way past. "Aria!" Peridot argued. "There's nothing you can do right now. We don't _know_ what you can do right now! Just let the Crystal Gems do the work. They want to rendezvous with us back at the temple, and I was put in charge of keeping you safe!"

"But I can't just leave Steven!" I argued, trying to see past the massive pink lion.

"He'll be fine!" Peridot argued, her visor glinting with the strikes and sparks of the battle going on. "Even though he's only a hybrid, Steven has shown to possess a natural aptitude for battle. Now let's go!"

I didn't even have time to argue as Peridot grabbed me by the arm. Lion took that as his cue and opened another portal, hopping through it without any more fanfare.

"No!"

There was no getting away again as I was dragged through the inter-dimensional portal roughly. A moment later, we re-emerged, this time inside the beach house. Once we were grounded, I yanked away from Peridot's grip.

"Why did you do that?!" I screamed at her smaller form. Looking sharply at Lion, I said, "And I thought we were friends."

Peridot didn't hesitate. "It wasn't safe for you there so the Gems asked me to come along to get you out. Bloodstone is a very unstable but powerful Gem. She would have killed you. So you're welcome for saving your life."

"Well what if I didn't need saving?! I'm – I'm not just a human! Anymore... I think. And my name is Connie, not Aria!" I was losing my steam fast as I caught my reflection in the window. My facial features all seemed the same, but my body was completely different. My eyes, my hair, my body...

I could feel myself weakening the more my pain faded, and after only a moment of observing my reflection, I could feel myself begin to lose consciousness.

I obviously couldn't handle it, because everything faded to black once more.


	9. Chapter 9

_**Hi everyone! Just letting y'all know that this chapter is majority memories. I did a clip from each episode that Connie appears in, and even used transcripts to make sure I didn't mess up any dialogue. Enjoy everyone!**_

* * *

…

 _'So, Lapis and Jasper are somewhere underwater...'_

 _'Yeah, and...' Steven said almost morosely as we sat on the beach next to each other. 'Peridot escaped while the ship was coming down. She could be anywhere.'_

 _Looking off as I tried to process everything, I said disbelievingly, 'That_ is _a lot to take in.'_

 _Steven looked at me a bit sheepishly. 'Are you okay?'_

 _'Are_ you _okay?' I asked him, a little taken aback. After all the stuff he had gone through, he was still worried about me. 'You're the one that's been through everything. The least I could do is just listen.'_

 _Steven almost seemed downtrodden at that. 'I can't ask you to do that...'_

 _'I_ want _to, Steven. I want to be a part of your universe!'_

…

 _Steven and I were trying to take selfies together outside the temple._

 _'You blinked!'_

 _Steven, ever the problem solver, just said, 'Let's just take another one.'_

 _Having a sudden idea, I said, 'Oh wait. What if we get a shot with the beautiful view behind us?' I turned to put the amazing view of the beach and ocean and sky right behind me. 'Come on, Steven!'_

 _I saw a small blush creep to Steven's cheeks before he relented and joined beside me._

 _Holding up my phone to get the two of us in the frame, I said, 'Say cheese!'_

 _The both of us grinned as we said, 'Cheeeese!'_

 _I pressed the capture button, or at least I thought I did._

 _I could hear Steven ask through his smile, 'Did it do it?'_

 _Also still smiling for the picture, I said, 'I don't know.'_

 _'Press it again.'_

 _'I've_ been _pressing it!'_

…

 _I suddenly could see Steven in the mist of the battle arena, apparently trying to talk to one of the HoloPearls. It began to make a strike for Steven, but I beat its timing as I impaled the hologram with my sword. Immediately, the Pearl lookalike shattered as its sword fell to the ground._

 _'Connie!'_

 _I had been on edge so much with all of my training that I was actually a little irked to see the Gem hybrid. 'Steven?! What are you doing out here?!'_

 _Steven ran towards me, almost seeming in a panic. 'Connie, I don't want you to do this anymore! Not alone!'_

 _Grinning, I shook my head. 'No, Steven. I understand now! Your legacy, your destiny... You are_ everything _... And I... I am nothing... But I can do this for you! I can give you my service!'_

 _Steven shook his head at me, obviously in some kind of distress. 'No! I don't want you to!'_

 _Not understanding what was really going on, I noticed a HoloPearl approach from behind Steven. 'Steven, I'm doing this – ' I grabbed Steven and pulled him lower so I could swipe viciously through the hologram over him. ' – for you! I need to be able to protect you!' The HoloPearl dispersed._

 _I didn't notice the one approaching from behind me though as Steven said, 'But if you're the one protecting me – ' I suddenly felt Steven swing me around as his shield manifested. ' – then who's the one protecting you?!'_

 _The HoloPearl's attack hit Steven's shield, the collision causing a soundburst that shattered the attacking hologram._

 _'Someday soon, we may be fighting some really bad guys, and when that day comes, I want to fight with you, together! So please...'_

 _We both registered the four HoloPearls surrounding us suddenly._

 _Holding his hand out to me, he finished, '… won't you share this jam with me?'_

 _I felt my heart flutter as I grabbed Steven's hand. All four Pearls leaped up and attacked from above. Steven grew out his shield to stop all of them, then manifested his bubble to push them off. The impact caused all four HoloPearls to shatter._

 _'No matter what comes, we do this together!'_

…

 _After listening to Mr. Universe's tale of how he tried to fuse with Rose Quartz, I couldn't say I was less than astounded._

 _'Human beings?'_

 _'Human beings.'_

…

 _Both Gem experiments advanced on us in the middle of the hallway, and there was no sign of escaping them. Steven summoned his bubble shield, stopping the creatures from reaching us but trapping us as well as they began pounding on the bubble._

 _Turning to look at my mother, I tried to make another grab for Rose's sword that she had confiscated. 'Really, Mom! I know how to do this!'_

 _My mother looked at me, the fear apparent in her eyes. 'No you don't!'_

 _Steven had obviously reached his threshold, because he finally blurted out, 'Yes she does! She's been training! She wasn't playing around with that sword! She's been taking classes learning how to use it right! Even though she's always studying, or practicing tennis or doing her homework, she still works really hard to be a good sword fighter!'_

 _'No,' my mother replied disbelievingly. 'No no no no no no – I know my daughter! I know what she's doing every second of the day! All her activities, all her internets... I know she's definitely not some sword fighting hooligan!'_

 _Finally, I was fed up. 'You don't know me at all! You still haven't even noticed my glasses!'_

 _Giving me an exasperated look, my mom asked, "What's wrong with your glasses?'_

 _I took off my frames. 'They don't have lenses anymore!' I stuck my hand through one of the empty holes, providing her with a visual. 'I haven't needed actual glasses for almost a year!'_

 _'What?! Your eyesight just_ magically _got better?'_

 _Finally shouting back, I said, 'Yes! I've been dealing with magic and monsters and things like_ these _since I met Steven! That's why I need you to believe that I know what to do here!'_

 _'But... You...'_

 _'Ugh! There's no time for this!' I finally just lunged out and took the sword from my mother's bag._

 _'Ready?' Steven asked._

 _'Drop the bubble.'_

…

 _'So he's not going to grow up?' I asked Mr. Universe a bit worriedly in the back of his van after excusing us briefly from Steven's party._

 _Mr. Universe looked visibly uncomfortable at my question. 'Well, it's hard to say. He's a Gem, and Gems don't really grow up. I've known the Gems since I was twenty-two and they never change! They just... Are what they are. But Steven's not like the other Gems. He's half-human. So I'm not really sure how he's gonna age. We're just gonna have to wait and see.'_

 _'Yes. Right," I said in understanding, even though I wasn't really satisfied with the answer._

 _'Are you okay?' Mr. Universe asked me, noting my slightly distressed look._

 _'Yeah. Yeah...'_

 _'Human beings?'_

 _High-fiving Mr. Universe at his prompt, I responded, 'Human beings...'_

…

 _Stevonnie was furious as the fusion groaned in anger. The image around the back of Kevin's car started to fade away in a hallucination. We were coming undone._

 _'What's happening? Kevin...'_

 _Looking back in the rear-view mirror, Stevonnie's hallucination worsened as the road seemed to crumble behind them. 'Oh! No! We_ have _to beat him. He deserves to lose!'_

 _Suddenly, all I could see was Kevin's face as his eyes glowed red almost demonically. Stevonnie screamed and veered to the left, everything seeming to black out for a moment._

 _As my vision returned, I realized I was sitting side-by-side with Steven, crammed into the driver's seat together. We were both in bracing positions as Steven panted beside me._

 _'Are you okay?' he asked, looking wildly uncertain._

 _'I think so. Are you okay?'_

 _'Yeah.'_

 _The two of us sighed in slight relief as we reclined back a bit in the seat in shock. Steven said, 'Seems like the car is safe, too.'_

 _Opening the door to the car, I stepped out and looked down the road._

 _Steven must have found it peculiar. 'What are you doing?'_

 _Turning sharply to look at the Gem-hybrid, I asked almost disbelievingly, 'What are_ we _doing?'_

 _'We're getting Kevin back! We're about to beat him at him own game!'_

 _Still struggling, I asked, 'Yeah, but why do we even have to_ play _his game?'_

 _'Because he's – he's... Dagh!'_

 _'I know!' I almost cried out. 'So why should he get to have any say over how we feel?'_

 _'He doesn't!'_

 _Curling in a bit on myself, I could feel realization coursing through me. 'But he's the reason we're racing... Steven, he's the reason we_ fused _.'_

 _Steven gasped at my revelation, everything clicking into place for him. Fusion was a pretty big thing to Gems, and what we were doing was disgraceful to it. Steven said in a horrified tone, 'We_ are _obsessed with him.'_

 _I still wanted to be Stevonnie, but at that moment, it was only because I could be with Steven. No one else mattered. Looking around, I said in a determined voice, 'I want to finish this race... But not for him.'  
'Right.' With that, Steven walked over to me and held out his hand, the two of us both wearing determined looks._

 _'For us!' Steven shouted as I took his hand._

 _..._

 _The corrupted Gem began its advancement on me after I distracted it with a snowball. I knew it was probably a bad idea, but Steven was in trouble. Slowly backing away with Rose's sword position in front of me, I felt myself freezing under the pressure. A thought streaked through my mind – I can't do this!'_

 _'Connie, what's are you doing?!' Steven yelled out frantically._

 _Still stepping backwards from the monster, terror coursed through me. 'I... I don't know! I... Wasn't prepared for this!'_

 _Suddenly, Pearl's voice came through clearly from the walkie talkie that Steven had thrown earlier. 'Steven Connie? Is this because of the favorite Gem thing? Heh, that was just a joke! … Don't tell Garnet.'_

 _Making a split second decision, I began running at the monster as Steven cries out for me, 'Connie!'_

 _Using what little battle knowledge I could dredge up from my mind, I skillfully slid under the monster and managed to snatch up the walkie-talkie. 'Pearl! We've found the monster!'_

 _'What?'_

 _'We need your help!' I said in almost a helpless cry._

 _'I'll be right there, Connie!'_

…

 _Steven grabbed my arm as the two of us rushed towards Jasper, knowing she could easily destroy Amethyst's Gem in her hand._

 _In her gruff voice, Jasper looked at the purple gem in disdain. 'Time to get rid of this embarrassment.'_

 _Both Steven and I yelled out as we sprinted towards Jasper in our fury. I didn't even register the bright light consuming the two of us, but in the next second I was Stevonnie. Jumping into the air, Stevonnie kicked Jasper in the chest hard enough to stumble her. The stumble sent Amethyst's Gem into the air, but the fusion easily caught it with her foot and flipped it up into her hand._

 _Jasper seemed furious as she focused on Stevonnie. 'You fused?!'_

 _Both Steven and I hadn't really paid much attention with our focus on getting Amethyst back, but looking down at her form, Stevonnie said surprisedly, 'Whoa! I – I did.'_

 _'You Crystal Gems would even fuse with a human?!' Jasper snarled in her rage._

 _Already fed up with Jasper and her bad attitude, I said scathingly, 'I don't wanna hear anything you gotta say...' Holding up the purple Gem for her to see, I finished, 'Unless it's 'sorry'._

…

 _'I can't believe this will be your first time in a library.'_

 _'Why?'_

 _'Because libraries are full of your favorite thing.'_

 _Steven finally walked through the threshold of the building and seemed to stop dead at the incredible sight before him. 'Books!'_

…

 _'Alright! Stevonnie has floating powers! Time to finish the job!'_

 _Propelling herself from the pillar, Stevonnie practically flies towards the HoloPearl, but suddenly, everything changed. HoloPearl morphed into the image of a terrified – the kid!_

 _'Huh? I'm sorry!' I cried out, leaving Steven confused as we miss the mark and hit the ground hard, forcing us to roll as we became unfused._

…

 _'Connie! We have to get you to a safe place! I can't treat you in the middle of this debacle!' my mother yelled at me as I tried to stand once more to join the fight._

 _'No! Steven needs my help!'_

 _'Connie, go with your parents! It's dangerous and you're hurt!' I heard Steven shout through the battle._

 _'No, Steven, I won't leave you!'_

 _Suddenly, I felt myself restrained by a tense looking Garnet. 'Connie, do as we say. You're too injured to fight anymore.'_

 _Just about to the point of pulling my hair out despite my already-existing agony, I screamed out, 'Fine! But I'm just going to come back! You better still be here when I get back, Steven!'_

 _As Steven used his bubble shield to blow off more enemies, he shouted back, 'I promise, just please be safe! I'll wait for you here!'_

 _'I promise I'm coming back!'_

…

My body jolted upwards as my eyes shot open. I could feel slight panic coursing through me at the darkness of the room after just witnessing that last memory.

Then relief struck through me as I I heard Steven's voice.

"Aria! You're awake!"

Suddenly, a light flickered on and I could see that I was laid out on the white couch of the beach house, positioned comfortably with a fluffy pillow and a light blanket covering me. Eyes widening as my dream memories filtered through my mind, I didn't have the capacity to contain myself.

"Steven!" I exclaimed, looking around frantically for the man. When I spotted the half-Gem on the stairs to the loft, I scrambled to turn around and crawl up to him quickly. My excitement was almost overwhelming, which wasn't a sensation I was accustomed to. "Steven!" I cried out frantically as I reached him on the stairs. Grabbing his hands with almost too much force and pulling him to me, I wrapped my arms around him tightly and squeezed. Steven let me hug him for a moment before pulling me back to stare at me as if I'd lost my mind. (Bad joke.) "Steven, I remember! I remember everything! You were right! – I'm not Aria! I'm – I'm Connie! Connie Maheswaren!"

I watched recognition as it lit up Steven's face, obvious excitement about to completely burst from him. "Oh my gosh, are you serious?! Oh Connie I'm so happy – "

"Regardless of her memories returning, that doesn't make her any less of an onyx right now."

Steven and I both looked over to the kitchen, where Peridot (whom I could finally remember) sat on the countertop.

Letting go of Steven quickly as if I'd been burned, I looked down at my new, completely different body. There was still an ache in my chest, from which I could see that it was coming from the onyx Gem that had been implanted with. And that's when my thoughts began spiraling, my earlier excitement stopping in its tracks as I was suddenly overwhelmed with... shock? Fear?

"Oh," I said blankly, even though I could feel a complete meltdown about to take over my body. "Onyx. I have a... I've got an onyx Gem now..."

* * *

 ** _Please read and leave a review! I LOVE when I see emails for reviews!_**


	10. Chapter 10

_**So sorry for the wait! But, because you guys have been awesome, I have a little something for two lucky Pokemon X, Y, Omega Ruby, or Alpha Sapphire fans/owners! I have two codes for a shiny, Mythical Level 100 Genesect! Just read the chapter, leave a review, and at the end of your review, just add ::Genesect Contest::. Easy enough, right? Now on to the story!**_

* * *

Grappling at the black gem that shone through a specific hole in my shirt (that I could feel wasn't actually a shirt, but an actual part of _me_ ), I gasped out, "What – Steven! W-What do I do? I can't be a Gem! I'm a human!" Looking up with utter panic, tears sprang to my eyes as I settled my gaze on Steven. "Steven, I... What's going on? How did this happen? What's going to happen to me?!" By that point, I was sure I should have been hyperventilating... But I wasn't. _'Right. Because Gems are different... than humans... And I'm not human anymore... But I had just gotten my memories back! What the hell is going on?'_

"I... I can't deal with this right now! I'm... I'm sorry, Steven!" With that, my legs began moving of their own accord, running out of the beach house and leaping easily from the deck to the beach far below. I never in my right mind would have attempted that jump but some unfamiliar instincts kicked in and I was suddenly soaring through the air. I couldn't think on I it though as I felt my bare feet hit the sand and take off.

It was actually a strange sensation. My running speed was beyond incredible, but I couldn't focus on that as tears blurred my vision. After running such a huge stretch, probably around five miles, I still felt as though I could keep running forever. I didn't feel tired at all. However, I knew I needed to find a spot somewhere to sit down so I could gather myself together.

 _'I'm... I'm a Gem, now. I'm an onyx... I don't even remember seeing any onyx Gems when Yellow Diamond invaded earth seven years ago. But I didn't get to see all of them because...'_

 _'Mom... Dad... They were trying to take me somewhere safe. I was hurt and Mom was in the back seat with me treating my bleeding head. I remember the pouring rain, and I couldn't help but worry about Dad's bad driving. We had almost made it to the next city before a landslide completely swept my family's vehicle off that cliff.'_

 _'I lost my memory, but Mom and Dad... They lost their lives. My... my parents are dead! They were the only family I had left and they were taken away from me so fast! It... It's not fair!'_

 _'And now I'm suddenly a Gem! Some random Homeworld Gem had_ experimented _on me and turned me into a freaking Gem against my will and the process was excruciating!'_

 _'But... Asides from the pain and torment... Is it really such a bad thing? If I really am a full Gem, then does that mean that I'll have powers and super strength and basically the ability to not die as long as my Gem stayed intact? Oh, this is all so confusing! What do I do?!'_

I probably stayed in place for a good few hours, lamenting and trying to put the pieces of my life back together in my mind. I would go from crying because I had lost my parents to panicking because I had been turned into a Gem. After finally exhausting my brain, I knew it was time to go back and face everyone. If I was a Gem, then I was going to need Steven's family's help desperately. I had too many questions to even count.

Instead of running back to the temple, I walked at a leisurely pace, trying to blank out my mind as I focused on the bright shining stars that lit up the night sky. It may have been considered stalling, but after everything I had been through, I felt as though I deserved to have a bit of meditation time as I walked and enjoyed the view.

Two hours later, I nervously trudged up the path to the beach house, noting the lights on inside. Heaving a sigh as I tried to build up some courage, I began ascending the stairs until I was stopped by an overly-worried voice.

"Ar – Connie, you're back!"

Looking up, I saw Steven as he let the screen door slam behind him before rushing towards me. In just a few short strides, he was on me, pulling me in close to him in almost a crushing hug. Voice muffled by my hair, he said, "Are you okay? Are you hurt?"

Pulling back from Steven a bit so I could see his teary-eyed face, I smiled lightly. "I'm okay, Steven. I just needed to be alone and get my thoughts together. I'm glad I have my memory back, but... but it also brought back the memories of my parents, and they're gone now. It's... It's kind of tough to deal with, you know? But... But I know that as of right now, I should be focused on figuring out what all Bloodstone did to me. I don't have time to grieve... So I came back. I... I know I'm going to need help adjusting to my changes, and you and the other Gems are literally the only ones who can help me. I'm... I'm so sorry for running off like that. I'm sure it worried you, especially because I had just told you that my memory came back."

When I finished speaking, Steven wrapped me in his arms once more and hugged me even tighter. "We'll always be here for you, Connie. We'll do everything we can to turn you back to normal."

Steven released our embrace and led me inside by the hand as I answered hesitantly, "Well... That was one thing I thought about... Even if there's a way to make me... _human_ again, I'm not sure... Well, I mean... Maybe I'll like being a... Gem. If what Bloodstone said is true about being converted into a full Gem, then that means I... Well, I won't really have to worry about growing old or dying and... and it would mean I can stay with you... I made a promise to you a long time ago to stay by your side, and now that I remember that, I still plan to keep it. Maybe... Maybe I'll make a good Gem! Maybe I can help on missions and stuff again. I'm way out of practice, but I remember everything from my training. Once I brush up on everything I can finally be an asset to you again, Steven!"

Steven made me sit on the couch as he busied himself in the kitchen to make what seemed to be hot cocoa. Still talking to me, he said in a bit of a nervous voice, "Are you sure you're okay about your parents? Do you even know what happened to them?"

Feeling my mood drop a bit once more, I said hesitantly, "Not really, I... When my parents took me... When they fled Beach City so my mom could patch me up, the rain became too much. A... A landslide started right as we reached it and it swept our car off a cliff... When I woke up in the hospital, they told me my parents had been tossed from the vehicle and into the river, which made the doctors presume them dead, but I didn't even know them at the time. I feel awful for ever forgetting them, but now that I remember them, I will always have my memories of them. But, I have to move forward. Something new and possibly exciting has happened to me, so it's obviously the path I should focus on. I want to make sure they're proud of me, always."

Steven sat down beside me with two hot mugs and handed one to me. After he sipped his cocoa a little bit, he looked at me with shimmering eyes. "Connie, you have no idea..." He tried to taper off as he seemed to change what he wanted to say, but I cleared my throat (which was strange considering I no longer had the need to) to prompt him. "Right. Um. When you left that day and didn't come back, I was... devastated. But you _did_ come back finally... And then it nearly broke me that you claimed you weren't you, but Aria, and I was even more-so upset when I knew you'd lost your memories but my powers didn't heal you. I missed you... I missed you _so much_. And I'm so sorry about your parents, but if you've obtained peace with what happened... Then I'm really, truly happy for you. And I _know_ that they're proud of you, and you will _never_ disappoint them."

I sat down my hot chocolate and leaned sideways to hug Steven close. Not letting go, I looked down at the pale white of my skin which was a far cry from my dark Eastern complexion. "So... How did you recognize me back in the dungeon?"

Steven pulled away from the hug and looked at me hard. It made me a little nervous, so I immediately began playing with my impossible long, silky black hair. Finally, a smile appeared on his lips. "I could never mistake you. I can practically _feel_ your energy. Plus, asides from your nose adjusting slightly, you still look exactly the same, just different clothes and light skin. You still look beautiful. You still look like Connie to me."

I blushed and turned my head away, suddenly finding great interest in the crystals scattered around the warp pad. "Bloodstone... Bloodstone said my Gem _chose_ this form. I have no idea why, though. I've never been one to really dress like this..."

"I think it looks great," Steven said without hesitation, grinning at me. "With your black Gem, it really suits you."

Blushing a bit more at that, I looked back at Steven with caution. "Sp... Uh... Speaking of which... I'm an onyx, right? And all Gems have their own abilities suited to their Gems? So... What about my kind?"

Steven visibly went rigid, and I immediately knew something was wrong.

"Steven? What are onyx Gems meant for?"

Letting out a puff of air as he blew a stray lock from his face, he frowned. "I... I don't know much. There were three of them that showed up during the battle, and they were pretty... Ruthless. They managed to poof Lapis. I saved her Gem in time, but not before they did the same to Peridot. I was lucky to save both Gems, but it took Garnet, Amethyst, Pearl, and me to take the onyxs down." Steven seemed to noticed my stricken look, because his eyebrows shot up in recognition as he stuttered out, "B-but you're _obviously_ not like them! You're still... You. You just look a little different and probably have magic powers. I think those onyxs were trained to be battle-hardened."

I relaxed a bit at Steven's retraction and something clicked in my mind. "Well, Bloodstone _did_ try to use some kind of helmet thing to 'implant Gem tech' in my head. I managed to hold her off long enough for you guys to rescue me."

"You mean... She was trying to brainwash you or something?" Steven asked curiously, looking down at me.

Looking up at him to meet his gaze, I said, "Basically, yeah. I think. She said it would permanently alter my memories forever."

Setting his mug down, Steven grabbed my arm and used it to pull me to him. We had been hugging a lot lately, I noticed, but I didn't really mind. It was a comforting feeling.

"Well, the Gems and I managed to poof her and store her away, and Garnet made sure to destroy everything in that place that she could find before we left. You're safe now. Different, but you're still technically you and you're not hurt. Or, well... I mean, _are_ you hurt?"

Shaking my head slowly, I said, "When I woke up the first time after... this..." I said as I lightly brushed my fingers over my gem. "It felt like every inch of me was on fire. It was _so_ painful, Steven. Bloodstone said everything was going like it should though, and after waking up the second time with no pain, I'm assuming whatever the process was is all done. Except for the 'Gem tech' stuff. Now I'm... I'm Connie Maheswaren, the Onyx. Maybe... Maybe I can even become Onyx... Of the Crystal Gems."

Steven seemed to be trying to hold back tears, but he immediately straightened up when the warp pad activated and manifested Garnet and Pearl.

"Hey! You're back!" Steven exclaimed, not letting go of me where we were standing between the kitchen and living room.

"Yes, we needed to dispose of all of Bloodstone's possessions. Aria, how are you feeling?"

When Pearl asked this, Steven's smile seemed to almost blast through the room as he immediately plowed through his recount of everything. Some might have thought it wasn't his place to really tell my story, but I really didn't want to. My head was still kind of reeling from it. Amethyst strolled through the door, cramming fries in her mouth, so it was the five of us in the room.

"Amethyst, Garnet, Pearl...! She's _not_ Aria! She got her memories back! She _really is_ Connie!" Steven said, barely able to contain himself as he hugged me tighter. I couldn't help but feel nice and warm by his embrace, if a bit embarrassed because the other Gems were watching.

The three Gems all made a small noise of surprise, but Garnet was quick to speak with a large grin as she placed her hands on her hips. "While we're extremely glad that Connie has gotten her memories back, we knew it was her anyway. Everyone has their own, unique energy, and yours, Connie, is unmistakable. It's wonderful that you can remember again, though." Garnet paused for a moment before adding, "And I'm truly sorry about your parents, Connie. Doctor and Mr. Maheswaren were great people and incredible parents, and it's compassionate people like them that give us a reason to protect this planet."

I was sure my face was turning red as I muttered out, "Thank you, Garnet... Thank all of you. You came to rescue me, even though you could have easily left me there."

At that, I heard Lion growl in a grumpy tone as he appeared from the bathroom. God knew what he was doing in there. Along with Lion, all four of the Gems immediately began dismissing my gratitude.

"Connie, we would never – "

"We couldn't just leave you at her mercy – "

"We're not like that – "

"No way, I care about you too much!"

Steven's statement seemed to cut through everyone else', but it was overlooked as I continued, " _But_... Now that I have been turned into... A Gem... I hate to admit it but... I'm going to need everyone's help. I don't know what I am. I don't know what I'm supposed to be. I... I don't think there's a way to turn me back, but being a Gem means I'll be stronger. So, I guess I'm saying I need to be taught how to be a Gem." Turning my attention solely onto Pearl, I said, "Pearl, when Steven said I remembered everything, he meant everything. I may be a bit rusty, but I still remember how to sword fight. If you're willing, I would love for you to become my teacher again. And to learn alongside Steven, even if he's much stronger now than the last time we fought together."

Pearl had her hands clasped together in front of her mouth as her eyes swam with happy tears. "Oh! Yes... Of course I'll train you again!"

"Thank you," I said, bowing to her as my teacher once again.

"Wow, teaching a fully grown person how to be a Gem? This is gonna be weird," I heard Amethyst say from behind me. Turning to look at her, I saw Garnet beside her with a grin on her face.

"What... What are you smiling about?" I asked Garnet cautiously. With my memory back, it was a strange sensation interacting with the Gems. It was like we had just met all over again, or that I had just come back from a... seven year vacation... Right.

Garnet said joyfully, "You don't want to be a human again. You want to stay a Gem. This means Stevonnie has upgraded!"

Both Steven and I looked at her dumbfounded. "Huh?"

"Steven, Connie, now that Connie is a Gem, it means Stevonnie's gem powers will bounce off one another, making her extremely more powerful than when Connie was just a human." Garnet was noticeably excited.

"Wait," I stopped and asked, thinking for a moment. "Does that mean... Stevonnie won't really be Stevonnie anymore?"

Smiling gently, Garnet said, "Your actual fusion would be called Obsidian – however, I think Stevonnie is already perfect."

…

"So, remind me again why I can't keep living in my apartment..." I said irritably as I finished up packing what few belongings I had.

"Because you're a new Gem, and the first one ever to be created from a human. It will be safer for you and everyone else," Garnet said in her matter-of-fact tone as she stood there holding three large boxes in one hand.

"Garnets right, Connie. We don't yet know what you're capable of," Pearl backed her up as she scrubbed every inch of the apartment clean. "With you staying with us, it will be much easier to train you as well as protect you. The rogue Gem experiments and corrupted Gems that remain on Earth are drawn to us because of _our_ Gems."

Taping up my last box, I stood as Steven took the box from me.

"But Lapis and Peridot get their own space!" I tried to argue.

"Connie," Steven said, frowning. " I know how hard you worked for your independence, but right now, you need us. Lapis and Peridot are fully self-aware Gems that can watch each others' backs. You don't even know what kind of weapon you have, let alone how to summon it."

"Steven's right, Connie," Pearl commented as she telekinetically rid herself of the grime from cleaning. "We all know how much you wanted your own space, but right now is just not a good time. I have your apartment looking cleaner than when you moved in, so you can at least get your deposit back."

Sighing in defeat, I finally relented. "Okay, I understand. It wouldn't be good for me to accidentally take the door off a business again... Controlling the strength is really tricky."

"Yeah, but I can't say the look on Kofi's face wasn't worth it!" Amethyst laughed joyfully as everyone began filtering out of my now former apartment. Locking the door behind me one last time, I dropped the key into an envelope and slipped it into my former landlord's mail slot.

"It's _not_ funny, Amethyst!" Pearl growled at the younger Gem. "We have to keep Connie safe until she at least learns a little control over her powers. If we don't, she could seriously injure herself or someone else on accident!"

Dejectedly, I agreed. "Yeah. I don't... I don't think I could live with myself if I hurt someone..." As I said this, my hand automatically went to touch my Gem. I had noticed it had become a habit ever since that first day.

"Don't worry, Connie", Steven said as he pulled me sideways into a hug as we walked through the sand. "We'll make sure nothing happens to you. _I'll_ make sure nothing happens to you."

* * *

 _ **More to come soon!**_

 _ **Please R &R and don't forget to enter for your (large) chance at winning a Level 100 Genesect!**_


	11. Chapter 11

_**Embarrassingly short chapter but I couldn't wait any longer! And I still haven't gotten any entries for the Level 100 Genesect codes for Pokemon X, y, Omega Ruby, and Alpha Sapphire. All you need to do is read, review, and at the end of your review put ::Genesect Contest::**_

* * *

"I _am_ trying!" I whined aggravatedly as I once again lunged at Pearl with my sword. The two metal blades clanged loudly as they clashed, with Pearl and me daring intricate swings and twirls in battle with one another. Our movements were fast. Incredibly fast. I was sure I normal human wouldn't have been able to keep up.

"Then show me!" Pearl challenged before she suddenly summoned two HoloPearls to flank me as she rushed me from in front. I watched as all three Pearls bore down on me, but my long-instilled instincts made me spring backwards with a good bit of force, flipping easily in a back hand-spring as I slashed out my sword with my free hand.

My sword hit its mark on the left HoloPearl and sliced through it neatly, causing it to shatter. Rallying a cry as I landed gracefully on my feet, I shot forward quickly and sliced through the other hologram before using my momentum to force Pearl's sword to fly from her hand.

As I stood before the defeated Gem, breathing hard, Pearl exclaimed, "Excellent, Connie! You were already a master swordswoman as a human. As a Gem, you're a true force to be reckoned with!"

Feel a blush creep to my cheeks, I lowered my sword and bowed to my teacher. "Thank you, Pearl. That really means a lot to me. I just..." I let my thought trail off as worry briefly passed over my features. As habit made it, my hand immediately clutched at the gem embedded in my chest.

Pearl seemed to notice, because she said, "Connie... I know you want to access your Gem powers, and none of us really know what to expect from you, but I honestly don't believe three months is enough time to figure out something much bigger than... Well, anything you've done before. Your powers will come to you. You are an active Gem – we can all feel it. You just need to give it some time."

Looking down at the hand grasping my black gem, I nodded a bit sullenly, "Right. Yeah."

"And there is a plus side!" Pearl said, "By the time you figure out how to use your Gem, you will have mastered sword-training and hand-to-hand! It won't be long at all to teach you how to integrate what you've already learned into your powers!"

Smiling at Pearl, I said, "Yeah, I guess you're right." Looking down at my watch, I noted the time. "Oh, Pearl! We need to go back! It's almost time for the movie!"

"Oh! Oh, yes, of course!"

As Pearl and I mounted the warp pad of the Sky Arena, I couldn't help but say aloud to myself, "I can't wait to access my powers. Then I could warp whenever I wanted to!"

"As I said, Connie. Patience," Pearl replied with a kind smile, activating the warp. "Remember, it took Steven thirteen years for his Gem to activate. You may be a different case, but it _will_ happen. So patience, alright?"

"Yes ma'am," I responded, smiling back at her. When we finally appeared in the beach house, I was actually able to stay on my feet easily thanks to my new form. When I looked up, I watched as Steven ran up to us from the couch

"Connie! We have twenty minutes before we need to leave! I thought we were gonna be late!"

"Of course not, Steven," I said as I set my gym bag down inside the bathroom door. Looking back at him, I said, "It won't take me long to shower and my body automatically dries because my clothes are... well, _part_ of me, I guess, so I'll be right back."

"Okay," he said coolly as he grinned at me, a far cry from his earlier near-panic as he walked back to the couch.

Chuckling a little at him, I went in the bathroom to clean up.

…

"Nooo!" Steven whispered in a cry as the final explosion on the big screen died away. The lights to the theater brightened as the movie began rolling into the credits, but Steven was devastated. "They've got to make another one! They can't just leave it like that."

Steven and I stood to follow the crowd from the theater, the two of us steering onto the street. I had one of Steven's baggy hoodies practically draped over my Gem form with the hood pulled up to cover my face. It was the only way I felt I could safely go in public, and I always needed an escort. It was actually quite irritating, but the safety precaution was necessary. If my Gem powers suddenly activated, none of us knew what would happen so it was best to have another Gem with me for possible-disaster patrol.

"Um, Steven... The movie sorta ended in a neat little bow. There weren't any loose ends. I'm not sure you completely understood the ending..." I said quietly as we made our way towards the nearest restaurant. It wasn't anything local, just so the business owners wouldn't recognize us, but it was quaint.

Once dinner was over (with a lifetime ban after I knocked too hard on the women's restroom stall and caused it to fall on a woman with her pants down), we decided to head down to the beach to watch the sun set over the water.

Steven was practically in tears still over the incident as the two of us sat in the sand by the shore. Seagulls squawked around us as the sound of the incoming tide became more pronounced.

"I can't... Wait... To tell... The Gems...!" Steven said between laughs as he flopped back into the sand in absolute joy.

Groaning embarrassedly, I sat next to him in the sand and looked out at the horizon. "Yeah, yeah. Make fun all you want. I'm sure that lady isn't laughing."

"Heh, yeah," he said, still sporting a massive grin as he sat up next to me. "I could hear that woman scream across the restaurant."

"Maybe..." I said, bringing my hand to my chin as I thought. "Maybe the Gems were right... Maybe I shouldn't go out in public anymore..."

Steven looked at me, his eyes filled with concern. "Connie, it was an accident. I can't let you stay cooped up in the temple all the time. It's not good for you."

"But it's not good for me to be around humans!" I argued, folding my legs underneath me and biting my lip.

"Look, Connie," Steven said, getting me to look at him. The pink and orange glow from the sunset illuminated his face as his features took on a serious tone. "It does _not_ matter that you're a Gem now. You could be a frog for all I care. The only reason we just want you to keep a little bit of a low profile is in case something happens. But we never want you to stay away from the rest of the world! And, besides..."

Quirking an eyebrow as I looked at Steven, I inquired, "Besides what?"

"Well..." Steven started, his cheeks flaming up. "If you stayed at the temple all the time, I wouldn't get to spend as much alone time with you..."

"What do you mean?" I asked with a bit of confusion, tilting my head slightly.

"Well, it's great being with you and the others, but... Well, I _really_ enjoy just spending time alone... With you..." he said in quite an embarrassed tone. "I... I really like you Connie... I always have, even when you were Aria, even when you were human, even now that you're a Gem... I can't help it. It's... It makes me feel kinda crazy, because I don't really know what to do..."

I sat in stunned silence as I looked at him, disbelief ringing through me. Did he really just confess? Was he playing some kind of cruel prank? I mean, I couldn't have said I didn't feel the same, because I was sure that I _more_ than did, but how could he feel that way towards something as broken as _me_?

"Wha... This is... Quit k-kidding around..." I managed to stutter out, moving back from him without losing eye contact.

Steven gave me a genuinely lost look that almost bordered on hurt. "But... Connie... I – I mean it! I think I have... feelings for you... as more than just a friend. I... I didn't think I'd be telling you tonight, but... But I needed to stop waiting around. So there. I... I told you."

He almost seemed breathless after that, which was a sign that he was trying to keep calm. Every nerve in my body was bouncing, and every inch of my brain was begging me to deny everything and run away... But I couldn't.

"It... It's okay, Steven. You should never feel like you can't... You can't tell me things... And I have to be honest, too, I guess..." I watched as Steven's features morphed into horror, as though he already knew what I was going to say and it wasn't good. "But Steven!" I tried to pull together, "I – I feel the same... way... It's impossible to explain, but... I was completely... _enamored_ with you when I first met you as Aria. You're amazing, and handsome. You're so selfless and loyal that I... I really just don't think I'm good enough for you... I'm not innocent and... _pure_ like you are. You deserve a girl who doesn't carry my kind of bagga – oompf!"

Steven cut me off as he leaned over and tangled his fingers in my hair, using his light grip to bring me in so he could crash his lips upon mine. I was slightly taken aback at first, but the warm, soft feel of his lips moving against mine as his other hand cupped my face completely melted me away. The smallest of moans came from deep in my chest as his hand on my face moved down to my waist. I couldn't contain myself as I gripped the front of his shirt tightly and pressed further into the kiss. Running my tongue gently across his lower lip, Steven finally jerked back quickly as he gasped for air.

"Connie," he said, breathing hard as he maintained his hold on me. "Please tell me... You _really do_ feel the same?"

"Y-Yes. But I'm not good – "

Steven didn't let me finish as he brought me close to kiss me again. I felt myself turn to putty in his hands as he hands trailed hotly across my back. I finally gave up on my misgivings and used the hand not gripping his shirt to bury in his hair. Our bodies pressed tightly together as Steven daringly used his tongue to ask for entry. I granted it, feeling his tongue slip into my mouth and dance with my own. Another whimper escaped me, and next thing I knew, Steven had moved the two of us back to lay on the sand, his hands still roaming but not going anywhere inappropriate. I moved my hand from his shirt and used it to run down his abdomen, reveling in the feel of his toned abdomen. It was like bolts of pleasure zooming through me, and I couldn't believe that such an incredible man wanted _me._

 _..._

The sun had long since set before Steven and I had exhausted ourselves. We never went further than making out, but it was a mutual understanding between us. It didn't stop the burning fire that raged through me as I experienced a feeling I had never had before, but it was something I could deal with.

As the two of us laid side-by-side of the beach, staring up at the unending stars, Steven was finally the first one to say something. "So... What does this mean?"

I thought on his words as I absently picked out constellations in the sky, not ignoring that Steven's large hand was laced with my much smaller one between us.

"What... What do you want it to mean?" I asked quietly, turning my head to look at him.

Steven seemed to hesitate for a moment before answering, propping on one elbow to look down at me. "I... I want it to mean _something_ , that's for sure. I want you. I... I want you to be _mine_. It... It sounds crazy and possessive but... You're incredible, and everything I want. So I guess... Will you... Be mine?"

I could feel my heart skip a beat in my chest as I suddenly felt much too overheated. I felt as though my heart would burst from my chest, and tears formed in the corner of my eyes against my will. "I... Steven... I..." There was a long pause as I tried to think of what I was going to say. Words were almost completely lost to me. "Y – Yes. Yes!" I finally managed to stutter out as I leaned up and tackled him in a hug. Landing atop him, I kissed him soundly before I pulled back, a worried expression taking over my features. "But... Are you sure? I mean, it's like I said... I'm not like you... I'm not _pure_ – "

Steven placed his hand over my mouth, leaning his forehead up to touch mine. "Connie, you're perfect. No matter what's happened in your life, you will always be perfect." A small tear escaped and rolled down my cheek as I looked down at the surreal man. Slowly, he removed his hand and ran it through my hair. "Even though we were really young at the time, I knew when I met you that I wanted to be by your side forever."

Smiling through the tears in my eyes, I leaned down and kissed Steven once more. "You know... I think I felt the same way..."

* * *

 _ **PLEASE R &R! The more reviews I get, the more motivation that courses through me!**_


	12. Chapter 12

"Connie, come check this out!" Steven exclaimed quietly as he pointed excitedly. We had come along with the other Gems to Mask Island, only to find out that the monster we were chasing had gone back into the ocean. Garnet, Pearl, and Amethyst all took off in separate directions to search the ocean floor, but I stayed back with Steven. He could last a while without oxygen, but by no means could he breathe water like we could. I could even breathe water, but I avoided it. It was very uncomfortable after a lifetime of automatically holding my breath. Instead, Steven and I explored the island, even though he knew it like the back of his hand. It was probably one of his favorite Gem locations.

"What?" I asked in a low voice, creeping out from behind Steven.

Turning to look at me, he thrust his arm out to point once more. "Over there! There's some kind of animal sleeping! Let's go see what it is!"

"Uh, Steven," I whispered nervously, scratching the back of my head as I gently stopped him by catching his wrist. "I don't think we should go near it. There isn't supposed to be wildlife here!"

He immediately stopped struggling against my grip and gave me a baffled look. "Then what is that? It's definitely _some_ type of living creature!"

I turned to look at it to try and assess it a bit more. Most of it was obscured by bushes and trees, but it was definitely an odd, furry pink creature whose chest was moving up and down slowly as though in a deep slumber. If the shade of pink wasn't tinged with a little orange, I would have thought it was Lion, but Steven had sent him out over the water for the search.

"Hmm, maybe you're right," I said quietly, turning back to look at Steven. "We should probably investigate it later though when the Gems come back. If this island isn't supposed to be inhabited, then it may be another Gem monster."

"You're right!" Steven suddenly exclaimed loudly. "If it _is_ a Gem monster, then we can take it ourselves! It's probably the one we're searching for! Come on, let's go!"

"Steven no! Garnet said it would be red – "

But it was too late. Steven had turned my grip around to where he was suddenly _dragging_ me towards the creature. I gave up and finally drew Rose's sword, which had been in Lion's mane for safe-keeping ever since I had left. Steven and I crept towards the thing, which was sleeping next to a waterfall. The sound of the fall helped mask any sound we made until we got into full view of the thing.

It was just as I had dreaded. The pinkish, orange-splotched mystery was indeed a corrupted Gem. Its body mimicked a bear, but its eyes were obscured by fur and had a large Tourmaline gemstone embedded in its front right flank. As it lay there, I realized that, it being a Gem, meant it wasn't sleeping. "Steven, stop!" I begged in a hissed whisper. "It's a Gem! It's not asleep!"

"Huh?" Steven asked dumbly.

"Gems don't need sleep! Gems as old as these don't even know the _concept_ of sleep! _That means she's awake!_ "

My explanation took too long. The Tourmaline must have heard us, because it's head popped up to examine us. The two of us froze in place. Suddenly, the creature let out a deafening roar as it rose to its full height. When I thought it had the body of a bear, I didn't know it was the size of an elephant, too!

"Steven, we need to run!" I cried desperately, tugging on his arm. Instead, Steven just summoned his shield, holding fast.

"No! We got this, Connie!" he said in a bit more serious tone, not removing his hardened gaze from the monster.

"But – "

"Connie, you got this!" he reinforced, looking down at me. "I know you think you can't, but you _can_. We were just kids when we defeated Jasper that first time, and this monster is no bigger than that one! You're an amazing fighter, Connie! Together, this monster won't even make us break a sweat."

"But we were Stevonnie then!"

"It doesn't matter! We may not know how to fuse with your new form, but we _do_ know how to fight side by side! Jam Buds, right?"

Looking up at Steven for a moment and scrutinizing his words, I finally hardened my resolve and nodded to him. Using both hands, I readied my sword as the beast howled once more. Before the two of us could begin rushing it, it rushed us first. Steven quickly summoned his bubble, using it to act as a buffer to keep the two of us from taking full impact when the creature crashed into us. The bubble threw us into the air several feet, whizzing us past the trees. When Steven saw us quickly approaching a massive crystal geode, he extended out his bubble to form spikes, embedding us in the side of the stone to stop our movement. The sudden stop caused the two of us to crumple in on each other, hitting the side of the bubble hard.

"Ow!"

"Crap, sorry!"

"I'll live. Steven, she's coming right at us!"

Steven looked up and saw what I was talking about. The beast was charging for us, but she still had several yards to go. Dropping the bubble, Steven and I fell to the ground but quickly recovered ourselves to face the Tourmaline.

Bracing myself to Steven's back for extra support, he used his widened shield to collide with the top of the creature's head to stop the monster in its tracks. It took all the strength Steven and I could muster, but once it was stopped and tried to regain its bearings was the perfect time to strike.

"Connie!"

That was my queue. Steven turned his shield horizontal and held it ready as I launched myself. Once one bare foot (for some reason my form didn't develop shoes nor was it comfortable to put some on) touched the shield, I used a powerful kick to propel myself at the beast and slice through its toughened form. I was afraid for a moment after I landed on the other side of it that I didn't damage it enough to force it to retreat to its Gem, but I sighed in relief as I heard the tell-tale _poof_.

Standing up from my crouch, I turned and looked at Steven. I was right. The Tourmaline was poofed, her gem lying unharmed on the sand. Steven's eyes were shimmering, but I didn't focus on that as I approached the now-harmless Gem. "Wow. I... I did it. And it barely took any effort! That was..." Huffing as I brushed back my bushy mane, I looked disbelievingly at the stone. "That was just incredible!"

"See? I told you you could do it!" Steven said elatedly as he joined me by my side, looking down at the orange-tinted pink Gem on the ground.

"Yeah," I said, still feeling the rush. "But... Okay, you need to bubble it before it decides to come back."

Steven looked at me, cocking his head slightly. "Hm... Why don't _you_ try bubbling it?"

I gave Steven an expression of bewilderment. "Um, if I knew how, I wouldn't have suggested you do it."

"Well, you've never tried before, so what's the harm?" he asked, picking up the shiny stone and placing it in my hand.

Looking down at it, I could basically feel the pulsing energy of the being that lived within it. It was strange, having that kind of sense. Concentrating as hard as I could, I tried to tell myself to just _form a bubble_. Just... do it. Bubble it.

After about a minute of my eyes being closed as I tried to successfully bubble the Gem, I finally gave up with an irritated cry. Shoving the thing back into Steven's hands, I ground out, "I can't. I just _can't._ I don't know how. Just... Go ahead and deal with it before it reforms. I'll try again with the next one, I guess."

Steven quickly let a pink sphere engulf the Gem in his hand before phasing it back to the Temple. Looking at me with concern in his eyes, Steven asked, "Connie, are you okay? I mean, it's not a big deal. Learning how to use your Gem powers is just gonna take time, and sometimes they can be really devastating when they happen out of nowhere. Remember when I had to spend the whole night waiting to float back down to Earth after I learned I could super-jump _and_ float? It was a nightmare. So don't sweat it if it doesn't happen. Sometimes, it can be a good thing."

Smiling at Steven's optimism, I couldn't help but feel flushed after his words tied in with after-battle glow. Steven seemed to be in the same state, because he suddenly grabbed me by the waist and pulled me to him, bringing his lips down upon mine. I gasped slightly at the sensation, but quickly reciprocated the gesture. It didn't get to go much further than that, though.

"Steven, Connie!" Pearl's voice rang out as she came into view through the brush. "We couldn't find – "

Pulling back slightly from one another, Steven and I looked over in horror, frozen in each others' arms.

"Uh..." Steven started to say.

"What on Earth?! You... You two? Wh – "

"Pearl," came Garnet's voice as she emerged from the brush behind the pale Gem to place a hand on her shoulder. "Now is not the time. The creature is back on the island, and it's getting a bit more tricky for me to track."

"Oh, that's right!" Steven exclaimed, finally letting go of his hold on me. I realized I had been holding my breath so I let it go in a flustered noise. "We found a Gem monster! It was a Tourmaline, and me and Connie wrecked it!"

" _Two_ corrupted Gems inhabiting the island?" Pearl asked incredulously, turning her gaze to Garnet. "How did we not see it?"

The slightest of grins set on Garnet's lips as she adjusted her shades. "I did. But I knew Steven and Connie could handle it."

Pearl opened her mouth to say something but snapped it shut once she realized she couldn't really question the fusion's reasoning.

"Hey guys!" we heard Amethyst shout from just a little farther behind Pearl and Garnet. "I think I found the Carnelian!"

The four of us immediately were put on guard as we all began running towards her voice. Drawing the large pink sword into a defensive stance once more, I sprinted alongside the group towards Amethyst's voice. Once she was in view, we could clearly see the monster as it stood fifteen feet tall over us. Amethyst was in the process of speed-tying up the creatures' legs, but the massive corruption was breaking her whips like they were made of string as it flung itself around furiously.

"Gems, go!" Garnet shouted, summoning her gauntlets as she launched herself at the creature. Pearl, Steven, and I all followed suit, springing a group attack on the Carnelian while Amethyst had it distracted. Pearl was first to reach the insane looking creature but missed her mark with her spear as the Carnelian suddenly performed a barrel-roll, effectly getting rid of the remains of Amethyst's whips. As it rolled, Garnet fisted her gauntlets together to bring down a powerful swing on the approaching monster. The creature was a bit more battle-worthy than we had expected as it stopped short of Garnet's reach and leaped away from her deadly attack. Unfortunately for me and Connie, the creature had launched itself at us.

"Connie!" Steven yelled out as he grabbed me by the wrist and hugged me to him tightly, allowing his spiked bubble to form quickly around us. The Carnelian apparently hadn't expected that because it couldn't stop itself as its front landed directly on the spikes, causing it to roar out in pain. In its agony, it flailed around, wailing loudly while going completely beserk.

"Pearl! Watch out!" We all screamed as the corrupted gem suddenly threw itself sideways, directly on top of Pearl.

When we all heard the tell-tale _poof_ ,as Pearl suddenly retreated to her Gem, everyone screamed out, "Pearl!"

"You bitch!" Amethyst raged, pulling her whips out once more and throwing herself head-on at the Carnelian.

"Amethyst, no!" Garnet tried to warn, but it was already too late. One of the creature's four arms swept out and swatted Amethyst away, tossing her several dozen feet away. "Amethyst!"

In a pure rush of anger and adrenaline, Garnet launched herself forward with an immeasurable amount of force, zipping past the monster to snatch up Pearl's gem before landing quickly in front Amethyst to help her up. While they were occupied, the creature rounded on me and Steven, opening its jowls to let out a deafening bellow. On all fours (sixes?), the creature lumbered towards us at an alarming rate and all I could feel was Steven tightening his grip around me. He knew what he was doing. I could trust him.

Suddenly, I felt as though my body melted in the spot we were standing as we were both surrounded by a bright white light. Even without a physical form, I could see as our two light-forms merged, my black and his pink gems being the only visible things. As I felt my physical body shifting and changing, I found that the sensations weren't unpleasant and the sudden physical formation of Stevonnie seemed to surprise the both of us.

Stevonnie didn't waste time to marvel at her new form of Obsidian, but instead launched herself forward, sword drawn and shield at the ready. The Carnelian seemed momentarily stunned at what it had just witnessed, but it recovered quickly and continued its assault. The creature's hesitation afforded the new fusion plenty of time to slam the Rose Quartz shield directly into the monster's already somewhat flattened face as hard as she could. The blow forced the corrupted gem to the ground harshly, and Stevonnie knew better than to allow it time to recover. Raising her sword, Stevonnie clenched her eyes shut as she impaled the downed gem, causing it to poof instantly.

Without another beat, Stevonnie crossed the clearing to Garnet and Amethyst's side. Surprisingly, Amethyst's form wasn't terribly damaged, and Pearl's gem in Garnet's hand looked somehow completely intact.

"Garnet, Amethyst!" Stevonnie cried out with tears streaming down her face, dropping to her knees in the sand unceremoniously next to the gems, shaking hands reaching out to Pearl's iridescently white orb. "P... Pearl..."

"Stevonnie," I heard Garnet say, helping a groaning Amethyst to her feet before placing a gentle hand on my shoulder, which was actually level with Garnet's head. "Don't worry. Amethyst is fine, and Pearl will regenerate as soon as she stops being embarrassed about being poofed."

Letting go of my shoulder, Garnet walked over to where the Carnelian's gem lay and bubbled it, sending it off to the Temple before coming back to face Stevonnie. In fact, Amethyst was standing there staring as well.

Looking between the two, Stevonnie's eyes widened as she stuttered out, "Wh-What? What is it?"

"Stevonnie!" Amethyst cried out, approaching me and placing her hands on my form with a huge smile on her voice. "Your Obsidion look is incredible! You're bigger than Garnet!"

"Wha – Huh?" Stevonnie asked in confusion, looking down at her form. Somehow, Steven and I had successfully managed to fuse our gem forms on accident, which was a totally new level of bizarre for me. Examining myself, I noted that we stood probably around nine to ten feet tall. My long black hair fell all the way to my knees, only beautifully curly in tight ringlets. My shirt was Steven's red star shirt, except it was only enough to cover my chest, allowing both of our abdominal gems to breathe. Our legs were clad in knee-length cargo shorts, and black sandals adored our feet.

"Oh! Oh wow! I'm a giant woman!" Stevonnie said exitedly, stars shining in her eyes at Steven's absolute amazement.

The moment didn't seem to last but for a moment before Steven and I suddenly split, throwing us both to the ground separately.

"Come on, you two. Our job here is done," Garnet said, adjusting her shades and ushering Amethyst in the direction of the warp pad, Pearl's gem safely in her enclosed hands. "We'll talk more about your fusion back at the Temple after Pearl regenerates. I'm sure she'll want to hear all about it."

…

"Haha, _no_. I keep telling you Steven, that red one is Mars. If we had a telescope and could see past Mars, you would be able to see Saturn, too, right now."

"Heh, you know, it's crazy..." Steven said, rolling over on the blanket to face me. We had set up a pallet on a very secluded part of the beach to star gaze. After everything that had transpired that day, we just wanted to unwind with simply laying on the beach on a blanket. Turning to return Steven's look, I raised a questioning eyebrow at him.

"What?"

"Well, I've been into space a few times now, but it never occurred to me that the only places I've ever visited was the moon and Gem controlled places. There's gotta be other places..."

"I'm sure there is," I said, rolling onto my back once again to look up. "Just to visit the moon would be pretty incredible, I imagine."

"Well, it _has_ been a while since I've been there..." Steven said, seemingly to himself. Suddenly sitting up and looking at me, he said, "Do you wanna go see it?"

"It – What – Th-the moon?" I stuttered out, my hand automatically drawing to my gem as it always did when I became nervous.

"Well, yeah," he said as though it were the most obvious thing in the world, getting to his feet. Holding his hand out to me in an offer, I took it and allowed him to help me up. "I don't think the warp pad was damaged after the fight with the Rubies and that's the last time we were there. I can warp you there!"

Sudden excitement flooded through me and I couldn't help but fling myself into Steven's arms and cry out, "Of _course_ I wanna go!"

"Whoa!" Steven said with a laugh, setting me down gently before leading me back towards the Temple. "Calm down! I forget you're the first full Gem to have never gone exploring the warps. How about we make a trip of it?"

Eyes shining like stars, I exclaimed excitedly, "Um, yes!"


End file.
